


Bleach: Invasion

by RealDone_Universe



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Bleach
Genre: Complete, F/M, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:59:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5735812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealDone_Universe/pseuds/RealDone_Universe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[AU] The endless battles against Hollows in Karakura town draws the attention of SHIELD as Phil Coulson takes a team on a mission to uncover secret experiments on Shinigami. Ichigo goes to Hueco Mundo when an Arrancar captures Orihime and Urahara investigates a strange species of Hollow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cracks

ICHIGO KUROSAKI groaned as he awoke from bed. He turned to Rukia Kuchiki who was sound asleep beside him. He stepped out of bed and slowly stood up, looking at his dishevelled room.

He walked slowly toward the bathroom door, passing by some empty beer bottles and clothes strewn across the floor. He flipped the light switch and walked over to the sink. He stretched and turned on the faucet.

He washed his face and wiped it. He looked up from the towel he held up against his face and his eyes widened with shock. His reflection stared back at him, his skin turning white from his mouth and spreading around his face. His reflection's eyes were black with yellow pupils and blood trickled from its mouth.

Ichigo punched the mirror and Rukia shot up from sleep.

"What was that?" Rukia yelled.

Ichigo slowly walked out of the bathroom and smiled slightly at her.

"Uh, nothing," Ichigo said, "Just get back to sleep,"

"Does 'nothing' involve punching glass in the morning?" Rukia asked smugly.

Ichigo shook his head at her remark and stepped into the bedroom. Rukia got out of bed, draped herself in a gown and walked up to Ichigo, seeing blood on his knuckles.

"Ichigo, your hand," Rukia said concernedly.

"Huh?" Ichigo said, realizing that his hand was bleeding, "Oh, it's nothing,"

"What's going on?" Rukia asked, "Are you okay?"

"Nah, it's nothing," Ichigo insisted.

"Ichigo, something's going on," Rukia said, "You're not sleeping anymore, you're distant, you're drinking like hell; it certainly isn't nothing,"

"I'm fine, Rukia," Ichigo said.

Ichigo walked up to his wardrobe and wiped his hand with a cloth. He placed Band-Aids on his knuckles. Ichigo started pulling out clothes from the wardrobe.

Rukia turned to the clock at the bedside.

"Ichigo, it's 2am, you should get back to sleep," Rukia said.

"Huh? Shouldn't I be getting ready or something?" Ichigo asked absentmindedly.

"See, this is what I'm talking about, you've been so distracted lately," Rukia said, "Ichigo, something's going on, you shouldn't bottle it up,"

Ichigo sighed and turned to Rukia.

"You wouldn't understand, okay?" Ichigo said.

"Try me," Rukia said.

Ichigo looked at Rukia closely, seeing the seriousness in her eyes. Ichigo sighed.

"I've been having these strange … hallucinations and nightmares lately," Ichigo said, "Like visions and they're happening almost everyday now,"

"For how long?" Rukia asked.

"About a couple months or so," Ichigo responded.

"What type of visions are you having?" Rukia asked.

"I don't know how to say this," Ichigo said, "It's like I have this thing in me that wants to come out. I'm … it's like I'm possessed by something, I don't know,"

"Well, that's odd, coming from the guy who doesn't believe in spirits," Rukia said.

"I don't know," Ichigo said, "Ever since I saved you from the Sereitei, this has been happening. Something's in my mind and it's taking over me,"

"You probably need a break from fighting Hollows," Rukia said.

"It's happening even when I take a break," Ichigo said, "What should I do?"

Rukia walked up to Ichigo and held his cheek gently.

"Look, Ichigo, I don't know what's going on in your mind, but you have me," Rukia said, "You're not alone, I'll always be here with you and I'll do whatever I can to help,"

Ichigo smiled slightly and Rukia smiled back at him.

Rukia pecked Ichigo and held his hand.

"Come on, let's get back to bed," Rukia said.

Ichigo nodded slightly and followed Rukia back to bed.

* * *

ICHIGO WALKED down the halls of Karakura College with his eyes to the ground. His mind was overflowing with worry over his state of mind. He felt like he was going mad, but he knew that he was not crazy.

Everyday, he would see things and hear voices in his head. The nightmares were the worst and he feared sleeping, thus having to ask Rukia over severally. The best solution so far was drinking, but he could not live his life drunk and it was taking its toll on him.

It was near the end of the second semester and Ichigo was unsure of how to spend his holiday. Things were different since Chad Sado's death at the hands of Shunsui Kyoraku when they went to save Rukia in the Sereitei and there was a hole left in Ichigo's circle of friends. His death hit the group hard and Orihime Inoue took it the hardest. It was very difficult to explain what happened to his friends. He did not need to hide the secret about his Shinigami powers, but he knew that his friends would not understand and that it would be best to hide it from them for their safety. Orihime, who knew what happened, found it the difficult to keep the secret from the others. It was nearly a daily thing for him to try to encourage her not to divulge the secret to the others.

Since two months had passed, things changed slightly. With Rukia's powers having returned, she was able to find her Shinigami Station in Karakura and was back doing her duties as a Hollow hunter. With the help of Urahara's tech, she used a patch called a Gigai that enabled her to turn into a human temporarily so that she could hang out with Ichigo and his friends. With the time that had passed and with Rukia's addition to the group, it helped them to accustom slowly to life without Chad.

"Morning, Ichigo," A familiar voice called.

Ichigo turned and saw Orihime walk up to him.

"Oh, hey, Orihime," Ichigo said.

"What're you up to today?" Orihime asked.

"Nothing much," Ichigo said.

"Oh, well, Keigo and I thought we'd try out this new restaurant that opened up," Orihime said, "You in?"

"Yeah, sure," Ichigo said absentmindedly.

"Are you ok ay, Ichigo?" Orihime asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ichigo said.

Orihime looked at Ichigo closely and could see that something was bothering him. Bags were beginning to form around his eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Orihime asked.

"I'm fine," Ichigo insisted, "Just a little tired, that's all,"

"Okay," Orihime said, disbelieving him.

"Ichigo!" A shrill voice came.

Keigo Asano ran towards Ichigo with arms open wide and Ichigo simply walked passed him.

"Huh?" Keigo said to himself in surprise.

Keigo turned and saw Ichigo and Orihime walking on.

"Weird," Keigo said to himself.

Keigo walked up to Ichigo and Orihime.

"Ichigo, you okay?" Keigo asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said.

"You know, it's kinda odd, but I'm surprised; you didn't even hit me this time," Keigo said.

"Yeah, whatever," Ichigo said.

"Did you eat some bad sushi or something?" Keigo asked.

"No, I'm fine," Ichigo said.

"Really? Wow, you must be in a really good mood then," Keigo said, "Did you do good on an assignment?"

"No," Ichigo said.

"It's a girl isn't it?" Keigo asked.

Ichigo ignored him.

"It's totally a girl," Keigo said excitedly, "Who is she? Is she hot? She got big –,"

Ichigo pushed Keigo, knocking him off his feet.

"That what you wanted?" Ichigo asked.

"That's the Ichigo I remember," Keigo said with a groan.

Ichigo and Orihime walked on.

* * *

ICHIGO, ORIHIME, Keigo and Tatsuki had lunch at a restaurant near campus.

"Something's off about that Rukia girl," Tatsuki said.

"What makes you say that?" Orihime asked.

"Well, have you seen her go to any school, work or anything?" Tatsuki asked, "It's like she just pops outta nowhere,"

"Are you stalking her or something?" Ichigo asked.

"All I'm saying is that something doesn't make sense about her," Tatsuki said.

"Like what?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, where'd you meet her?" Tatsuki asked.

"I met her on campus," Ichigo said.

"Really? Because I've asked around and nobody's heard of a Rukia Kuchiki hanging around," Tatsuki said.

"Well, she doesn't go to Karakura," Ichigo said.

"What was she doing there?" Tatsuki asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo said.

"See, something's up with her," Tatsuki said.

"You're just being paranoid," Orihime said.

"Well, she comes over from time to time, right? I've never seen her leave after Ichigo goes to his classes," Tatsuki said.

"You have been stalking me," Ichigo said angrily.

"No, no, it's just –,"

"Are you jealous?" Keigo asked with a silly smirk.

Tatsuki looked at Keigo disapprovingly, shaking her head.

"Shut up," Tatsuki said.

Keigo chuckled.

"You need to mind your own business, Tatsuki," Ichigo said.

"I'm just saying, something's creepy about that girl," Tatsuki said.

"Well, let her be creepy then," Ichigo said.

A waitress brought Ichigo a tumbler. Ichigo guzzled it down and ordered another.

"You do know that's like your third?" Tatsuki asked.

"It's the fifth," Orihime corrected.

"I know you're a drinker, but maybe you should slow down a little," Tatsuki said.

"I'm just fine," Ichigo said.

"You wanna end up with a beer gut, bro?" Keigo asked.

Keigo chuckled and tapped his stomach.

"I was thinking of getting myself a gut, but your method's too complicated," Keigo said, "Do it the fun way; meatball subs dipped in honey,"

"That's gross," Tatsuki said.

"It's the fun way to get a big belly," Keigo said.

"It's the easy way to get sick," Tatsuki said.

"You should try my oyster ice cream," Orihime said.

"That's disgusting," Tatsuki said.

"Well, I like it," Orihime said, "You should try some,"

"Yeah, if I wanted to get sick," Tatsuki said.

"You won't get sick, Orihime said, "Sea food is good for you,"

"What happened to you, Ichigo? You never used to be like this," Tatsuki said, trying to ignore Orihime.

"Relax, I'm fine," Ichigo said, "Just got a lot on my plate right now,"

Tatsuki looked at Ichigo concernedly. Keigo looked at Ichigo's plate then raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you done eating?" Keigo asked.

Ichigo left the table.

* * *

ICHIGO WASHED his hands in the men's room and closed the faucet.

"That Rukia chick's pretty good," An ominous echoing voice came.

Ichigo looked around the room and saw a figure leaning against a wall.

"I understand why you picked her," The figure said.

The figure walked toward Ichigo and it was a human being with no features and completely white skin.

"What the hell?" Ichigo said stepping back.

"What, are you scared?" The being asked.

The figure's face morphed slowly and features formed. It's face transformed into Ichigo's. Ichigo fell on the ground and backed away from the being.

"You're scared of me, that's good," The being said with a smirk.

"Wh-what are you?" Ichigo asked.

"You don't remember me?" The being asked smugly, "Come on, who do you think I am?"

Ichigo breathed tremulously, trying to mouth out words, but too afraid to say anything.

"You're the king and I'm the horse, but we will soon switch roles," The being said.

White cloth appeared and slowly wrapped around the figure, forming into a Shinigami kimono with inverted colours. A sheathed Zangetsu appeared on the being's back. The being looked exactly like Ichigo, except it had a battle attire and a Zangetsu in inverted colours, had completely white skin and black eyes, black teeth and tongue and yellow pupils.

The being grinned.

"Don't worry, this is just a warning," The being said, "I am coming for you Ichigo and there's nowhere to hide,"

The being laughed and disappeared.

Ichigo looked around the room and blinked repeatedly to make sure that he was not dreaming.

Ichigo got to his feet and saw that his hand was turning completely white. He shook his hand and it turned back to normal. Ichigo frowned.

* * *

A GIRL walked down the street, holding her mother's hand. She licked her ice cream and dropped it on the ground. She ran away from her mother, moving toward the ice cream cone.

"Brianne, come back here," Her mother called.

Brianne picked up the ice cream and looked at it.

"No, don't eat that, it's dirty," Her mother said.

Brianne's mother walked up to her and took the ice cream from her. Brianne's mother raised an eyebrow and was confused. The ice cream had blood on it.

"What the hell?" Her mother said.

Blood dripped on her arm and her mother tossed the ice cream away, stepping back. Her mother looked up and saw a Hollow perched on a roof above her, eating a man's arm.

Brianne's mother screamed and grabbed Brianne's hand, running away with her. People panicked as the Hollow jumped onto the road and smacked against a car.

* * *

ICHIGO WALKED down the street and had left his friends at the restaurant. He needed some fresh air and somewhere to think clearly.

Was he going mad? Was he possessed? It all felt so real, but these visions both appeared in dreams and in real life. Why did it look like him? He knew that he could not run away from it, but he needed to know what was going on.

His phone rang and he picked it up the call.

"Hello," Ichigo said.

"A Hollow attack, I'm en route," Rukia said on the other end, "I'm sending you the coordinates,"

"Got ya," Ichigo said.

Ichigo looked at his phone screen and pocketed it.

Ichigo ran down the street and into an alley. Ichigo summoned his Zanpakutou and went into Bankai. Ichigo flew away.

* * *

A HOLLOW whipped its tail at Rukia, who jumped back and cut it off. The Hollow clawed at Rukia and she dodged the hit. Rukia cut the Hollow's arm off and slashed its forehead. The Hollow's corpse collapsed.

Several Hollows charged at Rukia, knocking over cars in their wake.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yelled.

A huge wave of black energy with a red trim swept through the street, washed over the Hollows, and left their corpses on fire. Rukia turned and Ichigo landed on a sidewalk nearby.

"That was a bit much," Rukia said.

"Gotta be quick if we want to save people," Ichigo said, "Where are they all coming from?"

"I don't know," Rukia said, "This is probably the largest Hollow attack I've ever seen,"

"Well, we'd better spread out," Ichigo said.

"Yoo-hoo!" A voice called.

Rukia and Ichigo looked around and an orange-haired female Shinigami landed nearby.

"Who're you?" Ichigo asked.

"Is that any way to greet me, Ichigo?" The Shinigami asked.

Ichigo furrowed his brows.

"Have we met before?" Ichigo asked.

"You haven't told him of me?" The Shinigami asked.

"No, I don't think I've had the pleasure of liking you in the first place," Rukia said angrily.

"I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, 10th Division Lieutenant," Rangiku said.

"Well, whatever, just help us take down these Hollows," Ichigo said.

"Well, that was rude," Rangiku said.

A Hollow charged at Ichigo and a wave of ice washed over it, freezing it whole.

A white-haired Shinigami Captain walked up to the guys.

"Rangiku, what's your status?" The Shinigami asked.

"I just got here," Rangiku said.

"We have to be quick, there're Hollows all over the city," Shinigami said.

"And you are …?" Ichigo asked.

"You're too ignorant, Kurosaki," The Shinigami said, "I am Toushiro Hitsugaya, 10th Division Captain,"

"Why do you all know me?" Ichigo asked.

"You invaded the Sereitei, you've made yourself known already," Toushiro said, "Let's get moving,"

Toushiro flew away.

"Well, he's fussy," Rangiku said.

"Yeah," A Shinigami said.

Ichigo turned and saw a bald Shinigami holding a staff seated on the hood of a car. Ikkaku Madarame.

"Heh, thought I killed you," Ichigo said.

"It takes a lot more than that to kill me," Ikkaku said.

"We don't have time for this," Rukia said, "Let's split up and cover more ground,"

"Got it," Ichigo said.

Ichigo flew away and Ikkaku jumped away from a Hollow that clawed at him. A Hollow bit at Rukia and she blocked its teeth with her Zanpakutou.

* * *

PHIL COULSON sat in the back of an assault vehicle. A SHIELD agent handed a tablet over to him. On the tablet was a live video feed from Daisy "Skye" Johnson.

"Just got word that SHIELD ops discovered wormholes opening up in Karakura town after the Krei Tech incident. A bunch of monsters have been coming through and there's an attack right now," Skye said, "There seems to be men fighting them on the ground,"

"Do we know who they are?" Phil asked.

"No, we don't have any data on 'em," Skye said, "Never been used to saying that,"

"The world's changing and it's getting a little hard to keep up," Phil said, "But it's still our job to be the line, just like everything else, these attacks on Karakura will remain hidden from the public,"

"Yeah," Skye said, "May and I are already en route,"

"Thanks for the info, though I was already told that before I started off," Phil said.

"Just wanted to make sure you're not falling behind," Skye said with a chuckle, "How's your hand?"

"Just fine," Phil said, clenching his right hand, "Feels a bit twitchy, but it's fine overall. The Cradle's quite a marvel,"

"Hey, since Helen gave you a hand, you should ask her out," Skye said, "She might be available,"

"I've got more important things to do," Phil said.

"No, you?" Skye said sarcastically.

Phil sighed.

"See you on the field," Skye said.

"Yeah," Phil said.

* * *

A QUINJET flew over the Karakura town airspace. Melinda May was at the wheel and Skye sat beside her. Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter and Mike Peterson prepped for combat.

"What's the ETA?" Skye asked.

"About three minutes," May said.

"That's gonna take too long," Skye said, "Open the hanger doors, I wanna do something cool,"

Skye got up from her seat.

"We're supposed to rendezvous with Coulson," May said.

"And I'll catch up with you guys there," Skye said, "Or, you'll catch up with me,"

"We're two hundred feet in the air," May insisted.

"Which will make this even more fun," Skye said.

May shook her head and opened the hanger doors. Skye walked passed Mike and Lance on her way to the doors.

"We're here already?" Mike asked.

"Nah, I'm just making a stop," Skye said.

"A stop? We're like a hundred feet in the –," Bobbi tried to say.

Skye jumped out of the Quinjet. The guys looked out and watched as she fell toward the street below.

"She's gone mad," Lance said.

* * *

ICHIGO KICKED a Hollow and slashed its head in half. Rukia blocked a Hollow's paw and slashed its arm off.

A Hollow charged at a woman and Ichigo flipped over a car and slashed its neck.

"Get out of here!" Ichigo yelled.

The woman ran away and Ichigo looked around as people ran off.

Toushiro slashed a Hollow's torso and swung his Zanpakutou, sending a wave of ice out of it and freezing a Hollow that attacked a man nearby. A Hollow lunged at Rangiku and she blocked it, her blade grinding against its claws. Rangiku pushed the Hollow back and slashed its neck. Ikkaku smacked a Hollow's head with his staff and spun around, dodging its bite. Ikkaku twisted a part of the staff, released a blade on one end of the staff and stabbed the Hollow.

Ichigo and the others looked around, seeing that they killed the Hollows in the area.

"Looks like splitting up didn't work," Ichigo said.

"They just keep on coming," Rukia said.

A Hollow lunged at her and she jumped out of the way. Ichigo slashed the Hollow when he heard a loud explosion nearby and the ground shook.

"What was that?" Ikkaku exclaimed.

"An earthquake?" Rangiku asked.

"Let me check it out," Ichigo said.

Ichigo flew away from them and Hollows amassed.

* * *

THERE WAS a small crater in the middle of a street and people slowly rose to their feet. Skye walked out of the crater and looked around.

"Skye! That was reckless, you could've killed people!" May yelled on the other end.

"Relax, I controlled the vibrations so people are safe," Skye said into her earpiece, "It's no big deal,"

"You better have, because we don't want a bigger catastrophe than there already is," May scolded.

"So a measly crater is much bigger threat than an inter-dimensional monster invasion?" Skye asked smugly.

"Just be careful and don't do anything stupid until we arrive," May said.

Skye chuckled and looked around as Hollows stirred to their feet.

A Hollow clawed at her, she rolled out of the way and shot a seismic beam out of her hand and through its skull. The corpse fell over.

A Hollow roared and charged at her. Skye ran on a car, flipped off its roof and landed on the Hollow's neck. Skye clasped the Hollow's neck and vibrated her hands. She jumped off the Hollow and its neck exploded, letting its head fall on the ground.

Skye looked around and dusted her hands.

"Well, that was easy," Skye said, "Wonder why we even needed to come here,"

"There's a lot more than that," May said on the other end.

"Well, bring it on," Skye said.

Ichigo landed on a car roof and Skye turned to him.

"Guess Halloween came early this year," Skye said.

Ichigo walked off the car and up to Skye.

"Hey, did you walk out of a manga or something?" Skye asked smugly.

"How'd you do that?" Ichigo asked.

"That's classified," Skye said, "What caused you to dress like a distraught geisha?"

"Did you just call me a hooker?" Ichigo asked angrily.

"You tell me," Skye said, "A man in a black dress who flies around with a sword,"

"You little –,"

A Hollow smacked Ichigo, hurling him into a store. Skye shot a seismic beam at the Hollow and Deathlock crashed near her.

"Took you long enough," Skye said.

"Well, it seems I missed all the fun," Deathlock said.

"That's nothing," Skye said, chuckling, "There's this guy who –,"

A Hollow charged at Skye and a Quinjet opened fire on it. Skye turned to it and saw May piloting it.

"How is everyone late?" Skye asked.

"Just make sure the people are safe," May said.

"You do that and I'll show Mike this weird guy I found," Skye said.

Skye walked up to the hole in the store and Ichigo was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" Skye asked.

Quinjets arrived at the scene, battling the Hollows on the ground and SHIELD agents began evacuating people.

* * *

A HOLLOW pinned Ichigo against a wall and he stabbed its chest. Ichigo pushed the corpse off him and Toushiro ran up to him.

"Ichigo, have you seen Rangiku?" Toushiro asked.

"No," Ichigo said.

"I've lost contact with her and I can't sense her reiatsu," Toushiro said.

A Hollow flung Rukia passed them, sending her crashing onto a car. A Quinjet descended and opened fire on the Hollow. Ichigo and Toushiro looked at it in confusion.

"What is going here?" Toushiro asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo said, "Maybe they're the cops or something,"

The Quinjet turned to Ichigo and Toushiro.

"This is SHIELD, lay down your weapons and stand down," The pilot said.

A Hollow lunged onto the Quinjet and broke a wing off it. Toushiro shot ice at the Hollow and its frozen body crashed on the ground. The Quinjet plummeted and a Hollow jumped into it, resulting in an explosion.

Another Quinjet few by and shot the Hollow down.

"They seem to have this handled," Toushiro said, "We have to find Rangiku,"

Ichigo nodded and ran up to Rukia as she got off the car.

* * *

A HOLLOW stalked toward Rangiku who was lying unconscious in an alley.

A soldier shot the Hollow using a sonic disrupter cannon, knocking out the beast. The soldier turned to Rangiku. His helmet's interface showed high-level energy readings.

The soldier pressed his earpiece.

"We have a specimen," The soldier said.

"Alright, bring it back to base," A man on the other end said.

"Roger that," The soldier said.

An assault vehicle drove up to the soldier and more soldiers came out of it. The soldiers grabbed Rangiku and moved toward the vehicle.

Phil ran into the alley and shot a soldier down. The soldiers opened fire on him and he hid behind a dumpster. The soldiers boarded the vehicle with Rangiku and drove out of the alley.

Phil got to his feet and looked at the downed Hollow. He pressed his earpiece.

"Seems we've got a problem," Phil said, "An assault vehicle just took off with an unregistered gifted, couldn't see who they were. Put a trace on my coordinates and track down the vehicle,"

"On it, sir," A SHIELD agent said on the other end.

* * *

A HOLLOW walked around an empty street. The Hollow growled and shook its head. A portal opened before it.

Urahara Kisuke entered the street and grabbed a small gun from his pocket. Urahara shot the Hollow's back and the small device sunk deep into its skin.

The Hollow entered the portal.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Please note that this book will be a soft reboot of the first book.

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Thread

PHIL COULSON walked into his office and sat at his desk. He keyboarded on his PC and live feeds from the Council came on the TV across from him.

"Director Coulson, can you give us an update on what's been happening," A woman on the screen said.

"Just came back from a mission and it seems these attacks are getting more frequent," Phil said, "We came across some strange people on the field, might be Inhumans, but we didn't have the chance to engage them and now an interested party has captured one of them,"

"They slipped out of your hands?" A man asked.

"Apparently so, but we have an even bigger problem," Phil said, "These creatures and these people fighting them are from another dimension, as Stark told us. Whether these people are hostiles or not, they have power and if people like Hydra, or whoever captured one of them, get their hands on that power, it would be disastrous,"

"Were you able to get a trace on them?" A woman asked on the screen.

"I'm having Agent Skye follow the assault vehicle as we speak," Phil said, "It shouldn't be long now,"

"Okay, keep us posted," A man said.

Phil nodded and pressed a button on his computer, shutting off the feed.

* * *

PHIL WALKED down a hallway and Skye walked up to him with a tablet in hand.

"Phil," Skye called.

"What you got for me?" Phil asked.

"I put a trace on the vehicle that took the unregistered gifted and it was traced to a Pacific Vista Laboratories building about an hour ago," Skye said.

"AIM," Phil said.

"You sure?" Skye asked.

"I've been on missions hunting down AIM and PVL is one of their subsidiaries," Phil said.

"Should I prep a team to get over there?" Skye asked.

"No," Phil said, "Hack into their servers and find out what they are doing before you take a team on the field. We don't want any surprises,"

"Yes, sir," Skye said.

Skye walked away from Phil and he continued down the hallway.

* * *

URAHARA WALKED around his lab and walked passed his main computer. A video call came on his computer and he pressed a button.

"Urahara, where're we on finding Aizen?" Yamamoto Genryuusai asked.

"It's been a bit tricky," Urahara said, "I've been having a hard time pinpointing his reiatsu,"

"Didn't you say that he was in Hueco Mundo?" Yamamoto asked.

"Hueco Mundo is a massive realm," Urahara said, "Pinpointing one being is a hassle even if you know that they are in the dimension,"

"We need to work fast, we don't know how much time we have left before the Hogyoku activates," Yamamoto said.

"All we can do is wait," Urahara said, "I placed a tracker on a Hollow as it went to Hueco Mundo after the recent attack,"

"Why track a Hollow? They are mindless beasts," Yamamoto said.

"The attacks have become more frequent and centred; they aren't attacking on their own," Urahara said, "If my hunch is correct, Aizen is controlling the Hollows for more planned out attacks. It will definitely return to whoever sent it,"

"You need to hurry, Urahara, we're running out of time," Yamamoto said.

"I have everything under control, Yamamoto," Urahara said.

Yamamoto nodded and the video feed ended.

* * *

PHIL SAT in his office and a knock came at the door.

"Come in," Phil said.

Skye walked into the room.

"Did you find anything?" Phil asked.

"I've hacked into PVL's servers and I've found something a little odd," Skye said, "There's a spot off the Atlantic coast where PVL has been making classified deliveries to and they have been doing so for the past six months,"

"That's a place to start," Phil said.

Phil got up from his seat and walked out of the room with Skye.

"Prep a team and meet me at the hangar bay in twenty," Phil said, "We'll take a sub and go check it out,"

"Yes, sir," Skye said.

Skye left the room.

* * *

URAHARA SAT at his computer and looked at a radar on screen. The tracking device's signal had stopped at a point in Hueco Mundo and he had been watching it for any movement.

The signal went out and Urahara wrote down its coordinates. Yoruichi walked up to him.

"You found something?" Yoruichi asked.

"I think I've found where Aizen's hiding," Urahara said.

* * *

A PINK-haired scientist walked through a lab with many Hollows in large capsules filled with liquid. Several scientists checked on the capsules.

The pink-haired scientist worked on his tablet and an icon blinked. He clicked on the icon and it showed an image of a Hollow's skeletal system. A small part of its left scapula blinked and the man clicked on it, enlarging that portion of the image.

A notification of a foreign device in the Hollow came on the tablet.

The scientist walked through the lab and walked up to a Hollow in a capsule.

"Unlock this capsule," The man ordered.

Other scientists walked up to the capsule and one pressed a button on it, draining the liquid and opening the case. The scientists held the Hollow and placed its unconscious body on the floor.

A scientist handed the pink-haired scientist a scalpel and he sliced the Hollow's left shoulder blade. A scientist handed the pink-haired scientist forceps, which he used to hold the flesh apart. The pink-haired scientist reached into the Hollow's shoulder and pulled out the device Urahara shot into it.

The pink-haired scientist looked at the device.

* * *

THE PINK-haired scientist walked into a large room and up to Aizen Souske who sat on a large throne.

"What is it, Szayelaporro?"Aizen asked.

"I found a tracker in one of the Hollows that returned from earth," Szayelaporro said, "The Shinigami have found us,"

"Summon Aaronierro, I have a job for him," Aizen said.

"Yes, my Lord," Szayelaporro said.

Szayelaporro left the room.

* * *

ICHIGO AND Rukia were playing carnival games while they waited for the others to arrive. Rukia ate some cotton candy while Ichigo tried to hit the target using a toy crossbow.

Ichigo missed the target, which was a dragon moving around a field. The cashier chuckled as Ichigo missed again.

"You got bad aim, dude," The cashier said.

"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled.

Rukia chuckled as Ichigo's face got red with rage.

Ichigo focussed on the target and shot the dragon in the eye. Alarms went off and the cashier groaned.

"Okay, seems it's your lucky break," The cashier said.

"Yes, got it!" Ichigo yelled.

"Yeah, after six tries," Rukia said with a smirk.

Ichigo groaned and the cashier walked up to shelves with several plush toys.

"Which one do you want?" The cashier asked.

Ichigo looked at the animals. There were ducks, bears, cats, lions, rabbits and a large Baymax toy.

"Ooh, ooh, pick the blue rabbit," Rukia said.

Ichigo turned to Rukia and smiled at her.

"Okay, give me the rabbit," Ichigo said.

The cashier picked up a blue rabbit from the top shelf and handed it to Ichigo.

Ichigo took the rabbit and gave it to Rukia.

"He's cute," Rukia said and looked at the rabbit, "I'm gonna call you Chappie,"

Ichigo placed his arm over Rukia's shoulder and they walked away from the stand.

"Didn't think you liked rabbits?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know," Rukia said.

"Like your birthday coming up next week?" Ichigo asked.

"You knew?" Rukia asked.

"Well, I did some digging around," Ichigo said.

"Because you can just dig up birthday dates from the ground," Rukia said.

"Uh, I just knew," Ichigo said.

Rukia looked at Ichigo angrily. He could not decide on whether to be afraid or just pat her on the head. She just looked so small and cute and she was adorable when angry.

"You looked in my journal, didn't you?" Rukia said.

"Uh …," Ichigo said.

"How dare you read my journal?" Rukia shouted, feigning anger.

"I thought we weren't supposed to keep secrets," Ichigo said.

Rukia smacked Ichigo's head with her handbag.

"You really invaded my privacy," Rukia said.

"That ship has sailed," Ichigo said and nudged her, "If you know what I mean?"

Rukia looked at Ichigo disapprovingly.

"Not funny, not funny at all," Rukia said.

Rukia folded her arms and Ichigo grabbed her, holding her close to him.

"You're not angry with me," Ichigo said.

"I am," Rukia said, pouting.

"Come on," Ichigo insisted.

"I'm angry with you, don't change the subject," Rukia said.

Rukia pushed Ichigo back and continued walking. Ichigo chuckled and hugged her from behind. Rukia laughed.

"Okay, okay, let go of me," Rukia said.

Ichigo let go of Rukia. Ichigo chuckled as they continued walking.

"Don't touch my journal again," Rukia said.

"Fine, I won't do it again," Ichigo said.

"You know about my birthday now, so what were you planning to get me?" Rukia asked.

"Well, how's about a rabbit?" Ichigo asked.

"You already got me one," Rukia said, "Ichigo Kurosaki, are you cheap?"

"I'm not cheap," Ichigo said.

"You made your girlfriend live in a closet for two months," Rukia said.

"It was your idea! Besides, you weren't my girlfriend back then," Ichigo said.

"Yeah," Rukia said.

Rukia tore a piece of cotton candy and looked at it.

"Two months with a girl in your room and you didn't even make a move," Rukia said, "I still can't believe that,"

"It's not like I knew you for two years and did nothing," Ichigo said.

"Two months, two years, still too much time to do nothing," Rukia said.

"Ah well, whatever," Ichigo said.

Ichigo and Rukia sat at a bench. Rukia held her bunny close to her.

"I'm not sure what I'm gonna do for my birthday," Rukia said.

"There isn't anything you want?" Ichigo asked.

"Not really," Rukia said, "Living with the royal clan was like being the daughter of a king. I always got what I wanted,"

"Well, how's about a party then?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia looked at her lap.

"I'm not sure about what to do at a party," Rukia said.

"You've never been to one?" Ichigo asked.

"I've never had one," Rukia said, "Sure, I got what I wanted whenever I did, but my family never really accepted me. We didn't talk much and we were so distant,"

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, Byakuya's dad took my mom as a second wife. I was from Rukongai, the poor outer part of the Sereitei and so my mom was considered lower than the other Kuchikis," Rukia said.

"I didn't know," Ichigo said.

"Well, you couldn't have," Rukia said with a chuckle, "I think Byakuya was the only one who cared about me. We didn't talk much either, but he told me that he stood up for me when the head of the Kuchiki clan tried to have me killed to keep the royal name unsullied,"

"My mom just got killed by a Hollow, didn't think others had it so rough," Ichigo said.

"Well, what should we do at a party?" Rukia asked.

"Well, just a party basically," Ichigo said, "You have some cake, music, presents, some cold ones –,"

"I don't drink," Rukia said.

"Whatever drinks you want," Ichigo said, "If you want something special, you decide,"

"And I thought I missed a lot; that sounds a little boring," Rukia said.

"Well, if you just say it, it might," Ichigo said, "But, experiencing it makes all the difference. Spending time with your friends and family; I don't know what's better than that,"

"What do you do when you celebrate your birthday?" Rukia asked.

"Oh, I don't celebrate birthdays," Ichigo said.

"Then why are you pitching it to me?" Rukia asked.

"You asked," Ichigo said.

"Then what was all of that about spending time with family and stuff?" Rukia asked.

"I meant just spending time with them," Ichigo said, "Birthday parties are for babies,"

Rukia frowned playfully and nudged Ichigo.

"Don't let me stop you," Ichigo said, "You should have one on your birthday. At least do it once,"

"I'd like that," Rukia said.

"When is your birthday?" Ichigo asked.

"I thought you checked my journal," Rukia said.

"I just wanted to see you mad," Ichigo said, "I'm not some freak or anything,"

"You wanted to see me angry?" Rukia asked.

"You're cute when you're angry," Ichigo said.

"Be careful or you may get the bad kind of angry," Rukia said.

"The way your nose points up like a nursery school kid," Ichigo said.

"I'm outta here," Rukia said rising to her feet.

"You're doing it again," Ichigo said.

Rukia sat back and pushed Ichigo's shoulder.

"What's wrong with you? I'm not some toy you can play with," Rukia said.

"Well, it's fun," Ichigo said.

"I'm gonna break up with you," Rukia said.

"And leave me to the long line of girls I can find on campus?" Ichigo asked then started counting, "Chizuru, Lirin, Riruka, Tatsuki –,"

"As if you could find anyone else," Rukia said, "I just took pity on you,"

"You took pity on me? Who took you in when you had nowhere else to go?" Ichigo asked.

"And who had to make the first move?" Rukia asked.

"I was about to," Ichigo said embarrassedly.

"When?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo turned away from her.

"You looked like a kid to me," Ichigo muttered.

Rukia chuckled.

"This is getting old, when're the others coming already?" Rukia asked.

"Let them take their time," Ichigo said.

"It's nearly been an hour," Rukia said.

"Well, it gives us more time alone," Ichigo said.

"Well, yeah, I guess," Rukia said.

"We don't spend much time anymore, it's nice to get out once in a while," Ichigo said.

Rukia smiled at Ichigo and leaned into him.

"I got word from the Sereitei," Rukia said, "My Division will have to switch with another in a few weeks,"

"What does that mean?" Ichigo asked.

"It means that we won't see each other for a long time," Rukia said, "It could be months or years before my Division is stationed in Amerisia again,"

"I could come with you," Ichigo said.

"You still have a couple years at Karakura," Rukia said.

"Screw it, I'm tagging along," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo, you can't throw everything away because of me," Rukia said, "You've got a life of your own to live,"

"Will I see you again?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know …," Rukia said worriedly.

Ichigo placed his arm around Rukia.

"Well, it doesn't matter where you are, Rukia," Ichigo said, "I love you, and distance won't change that,"

Rukia pulled away from Ichigo looked at him concernedly.

"I love you too, but, it might be years before I come back here," Rukia said.

"Then we'd better spend as much time with each other as we can before you leave," Ichigo said.

"And then after I leave?" Rukia asked.

"I won't stop loving you, Rukia, I promise you that," Ichigo said.

Rukia smiled slightly. Ichigo kissed Rukia and she kissed him back.

"Ichigo!" A familiar voice called.

Ichigo pulled away from Rukia and turned, seeing Orihime, Keigo, Tatsuki and the short, raven-haired Mizuiro Kojima.

"Hey, Ichigo, look who managed to pull away from 'work' to come see us," Keigo said.

"I really was busy," Mizuiro said, "I always wonder why you're always free when you've got assignments piling up,"

"Well, at least I value my friends!" Keigo yelled.

"Please lower your voice, Mr. Asano or you're going to draw attention to us," Mizuiro said.

"Stop being so formal!" Keigo yelled.

Ichigo and Rukia walked up to them.

"I'm so pumped for this," Orihime said.

"Yeah, if you were, you'd be here an hour ago," Rukia said.

"Well, we had to wait for Mizuiro and Orihime was too busy combing her hair," Tatsuki said.

"I told you, I got gum in my hair," Orihime said.

"While making a BB and J?" Tatsuki asked.

"It's true!" Orihime insisted.

Rukia shook her head.

"Well, let's not waste anymore time," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, let's check out the –,"

A Hollow's roar echoed around the park and people started looking around.

"A Kaiju?" Keigo wondered.

"Oh, great, just when I thought we could catch a break," Ichigo said.

People ran away towards them as a store's roof exploded into pieces. The guys ran away in the direction the crowd did.

"Where'd you park the car?" Ichigo asked.

"Mizuiro drove us here," Orihime said.

"Follow me!" Mizuiro said.

The guys followed them and Ichigo and Rukia ran slowly, easing into the crowd and making their way back to the carnival.

Ichigo and Rukia ran out of the crowd and summoned their Zanpakutou, transforming into Shinigami and Ichigo went into Bankai.

Ichigo ran toward a Hollow and it stepped out of the way and went towards the crowd. Rukia cut its face in half and three Hollows ran after the crowd. A Hollow jumped toward the crowd.

Ichigo teleported in front of the Hollow, kicked its head and slashed its torso with so much force that it went hurling onto a carnival ride. Rukia ran after a Hollow and sliced its hind leg off. Ichigo threw his Zanpakutou into a Hollow's back, stopping it in its tracks. Ichigo ran up to the Hollow and dislodged the Zanpakutou from its back.

A portal opened above the crowd and a masked man in a white Shinigami kimono flew out of it. The man swooped down and grabbed Orihime, flying toward the portal.

Ichigo flew up to the man and tackled him, releasing Orihime from his grip. Rukia jumped and caught Orihime as she fell, landing near the crowd.

Ichigo flew toward a street, smacked the man against a lamppost and threw the man onto a sidewalk. People in the street ran away as the man rose to his feet.

Ichigo looked at the man and was surprised at his odd mask. It was a large, yellow, cylindrical mask with a metal strip going down the middle and three going across. The man wielded a spear and he brandished it, waiting for Ichigo to charge at him.

Ichigo ran up to the man and slashed at him twice, colliding with the man's spear as he blocked the hits. The man swung his spear at Ichigo who ducked and kicked the man's torso. Ichigo flew toward the man who head butted him, knocking him against a car.

Rukia landed before the man and swung her blade at him. The man dodged, grabbed Rukia's head and tossed her away. Ichigo shot a Getsuga Tenshou at the man who dodged and swung his blade at his midsection. Ichigo dodged the hit and the man punched Ichigo. The energy blast hit a diner and exploded.

The man flew away and Ichigo flew up to him with a swing of his blade. The man dodged the swing and stabbed at Ichigo. Ichigo held the man's spear and swung his blade at his head. The man dodged and punched at Ichigo. Ichigo dodged the punch, grabbed the man's spear and smacked the man's head with its rear end.

Rukia stabbed at the man who spun out of the way, grabbed her leg and tossed her onto a car. Ichigo screamed angrily as he shot a Getsuga Tenshou at the man. The man teleported away from the blast, letting it hit the ground and explode. The man appeared behind Ichigo, grabbed his spear and kicked Ichigo in the back. Ichigo swung at the man who teleported away.

* * *

THE MAN teleported back to the carnival and grabbed Orihime who was running out of it.

"Let me go!" Orihime yelled.

The man let go of Orihime as Ichigo and Rukia appeared. Orihime ran away.

Ichigo appeared in front of the man with a swing and he kicked Ichigo. Rukia appeared behind the man and he punched her, sending her falling some feet back. Ichigo swung at the man who stepped back and swung his spear at him. Ichigo stepped back and swung at the man who blocked with his spear.

Ichigo and the man locked blades twice and the man swung at Ichigo's legs. Ichigo flipped out of the way and Rukia swung her blade at the man. The man dodged the blade and swung at her shoulder. Rukia blocked the blade and slashed the man's leg. The man kicked Rukia away and Ichigo swung at the man. The man dodged and swung at Ichigo. Ichigo sidestepped and slashed at the man. The man dodged, but Ichigo's blade slashed his back slightly. The man smacked Ichigo's blade, sending him hurling some feet back.

Rukia ran up to the man with a swing and the man teleported away. Ichigo got to his feet and he and Rukia looked around.

"Where'd he go?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't –,"

A blade pierced through Rukia's stomach. Ichigo's eyes widened with shock as he saw the man dig his spear through her back and out of her stomach. The man held Orihime's body at his side.

Sounds muffled in Ichigo's ears, as the man dislodged his blade and tossed Rukia aside. The sight of Rukia bleeding out on the ground drowned out Orihime's screams.

Rage filled Ichigo as his eyes turned black and his face turned white, from his mouth spreading upward. His face turned white and white liquid seeped out of his skin and wrapped around his face, hardening and forming a skull mask.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yelled furiously.

Ichigo swung his blade down and sent a huge wave of black energy with a red trim that moved toward the man and burned everything in its path.

A portal opened before the man and he stepped into it, carrying Orihime with him.

"Ichigo!" Orihime screamed.

The energy hit a wall and exploded.

Ichigo turned to Rukia and dropped his Zanpakutou. The Zanpakutou disappeared and Ichigo turned back into a human and the mask disintegrated.

Ichigo ran up to Rukia, knelt beside her and held her. Rukia dropped her Zanpakutou and she turned into a human.

"Ichigo –,"

Rukia coughed and blood spurted out of her mouth.

"Don't talk, don't talk," Ichigo said, "I'm taking you to the hospital,"

"No, no, it's too late," Rukia said.

Rukia coughed again. Ichigo looked at Rukia and she bled profusely. He frowned, realizing that she was right, but he would not let that happen. Ichigo rose to his feet and began to run.

"Ichigo, it's over," Rukia said.

"No, don't say that," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo, I'm dying," Rukia said weakly.

"Don't talk, I can get you to the hospital in time," Ichigo said.

Rukia shook her head and smiled slightly at him. Ichigo stopped running.

"Ichigo …,"

"Rukia, I –,"

"It's over, Ichigo," Rukia said.

Ichigo fell on his knees and held Rukia tightly.

"No, it can't end like this," Ichigo said, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Tell Byakuya that I love him, okay?" Rukia said.

"No, no, I'm not letting this happen to you," Ichigo said.

Ichigo tried to rise to his feet when Rukia placed her hand on his face. Ichigo started crying. Rukia smiled weakly.

"I love you, Ichigo … don't ever forget that," Rukia said.

"No, please," Ichigo said barely, a lump forming in his throat.

Rukia's hand dropped and her arm fell limp.

"Rukia," Ichigo called.

Rukia closed her eyes slowly.

"Rukia, Rukia!" Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo shook Rukia's body and she did not respond.

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled.

Rukia died.

"No … no, no!" Ichigo yelled, "Rukia!"

Tears dropped on Rukia's cheek. Ichigo cried and held Rukia's corpse closely to him.

Ichigo hugged Rukia and cried bitterly as he rocked her.

Rukia's body slowly turned white and Ichigo's eyes widened with shock. Rukia's feet slowly disintegrated and swept away with the wind.

Ichigo's body shook uncontrollably as he watched Rukia's body disintegrate. Rukia's body disintegrated from her torso and her head and the ashes swept away with the wind.

Ichigo screamed angrily at the sky as Rukia disappeared.

* * *

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Rebellion

PHIL STOOD before May, Skye, Lance, Mike and Leo who sat around a table in a submarine.

"Okay, we're about ten minutes out," Phil said, "Scans show that there's an underwater fortress on the seafloor, explaining where PVL's deliveries were going to,"

"Talk about your common pizza delivery spot," Skye said.

"May, Skye, you'll be the diversion. Cause a stir and draw them out," Phil said, "Fitz and Mike, while they draw them out, you disable their defences and find us a way in. Lance, you and I will take a team to gather intel,"

"Sounds like a plan," Lance said.

A call came in on Phil's earpiece.

"Sir, you'll want to see this," A SHIELD said on the other end.

* * *

PHIL, MAY, Skye, Lance, Mike and Leo walked into the cockpit of the submarine.

Their mouths fell agape as they looked out at the ocean.

"Oh my God," Leo said.

"That's some major real estate right there," Skye said, "It is better on the dark side,"

The sub was a league away from a large dome-shaped fortress that rested on the seafloor. The sub looked extremely small in comparison to mammoth of a building.

* * *

ICHIGO SAT in his room and wondered what would happen next. Urahara had passed on the message of Rukia's death to the Kuchiki clan in the Sereitei and he had fabricated a story for his friends.

Ichigo was falling apart. He had missed several classes; he ignored texts and phone calls and spent a lot of time at Rukia's shrine. He could not believe that she had just died right after he had finally said that he loved her. He spent so much time with her and he thought they would always be together. Then, she had to tell him that the Sereitei would pull them apart for a very long time and now life had pulled them apart forever.

He found his only solace in beer at this point as his friends were of no help in unburdening his sorrow.

Telling his friends about Orihime's disappearance was impossible for him to do, so he had to lie that he did not know what happened. He told his friends that the Hollow attacked him and Rukia, and luckily, the wound sustained from the fight was good enough evidence for them to buy the story. Tatsuki, however, was very difficult to convince about Orihime disappearing. Although she claimed to have seen him as a Shinigami as he fought Hollows, Ichigo decided to ignore her and stop trying to argue. At this point, there was very little he could care about and he did not care what his friends thought of him at that point.

Ichigo lifted up a beer bottle to his mouth and threw it away, smashing it against a wall. Ichigo shook his head and held it angrily.

He knew it had to end. He could live his life drinking and he knew Rukia would want him to move on. Whether he would or not, he knew that he had to stop drinking. In honour of Rukia who never drunk, he would never touch another bottle again.

Ichigo stood up and walked up to the bathroom. He washed his face and looked up at the medicine cabinet. It was odd not having a mirror anymore, but he could tell that he needed a shower. He walked up to the shower when the white being that looked like him stepped out of it.

The being grabbed his neck and walked up to a wall. The being pinned Ichigo against a wall and stuck his face close to his.

"You're weak, Ichigo, you couldn't even protect Rukia," The being said.

The being strangled Ichigo with one hand and he failed to break free of his death grip.

"If you weren't fighting me I would have taken over and the fight would have ended in a second," The being said.

The being looked at Ichigo and smirked.

"You're scared of me, good," The being said.

The being slammed Ichigo's head against the wall and growled like an animal.

"Because I'm gonna tear you apart," The being said angrily, "Oh, you just wait, just wait, Ichigo; I will take over you. You will beg and plead and I won't stop until your under my feet,"

The being laughed.

"You can't even break out of my grip," The being said, "You're too weak and you don't even know how to use your power. I have all the power and you're just borrowing it. You can't hide and you can't run. No matter where you go, I will find you and next time you see me will be the last time you are in control,"

The being bashed Ichigo's head against the wall and disappeared.

Ichigo fell and held the back of his head painfully. He looked around the bathroom and saw that the shower curtain had a large hole in it and that the floor had black footprint stains on it.

Ichigo shook his head and the bathroom no longer had any dirt or sign that the being was ever there.

Ichigo sat up and looked at his hand. His head was bleeding slightly.

It did not make any sense. He knew the being was a hallucination, but he could feel its ice-cold hands on his neck and could feel it strangle him. He knew he was not dreaming, but it did not make any sense. Beer was clearly not working anymore and the hallucinations were getting stronger.

Each time he fought, he could feel the force come over him, especially when he used Getsuga Tenshou. He knew he was not going mad, but the attacks made no sense. Whatever the case was, Ichigo feared that the being in the hallucinations was right and it would take over him.

* * *

URAHARA SAT in his office behind the store. He was eating ramen when Ichigo entered the room.

"Ichigo, what brings you here this afternoon?" Urahara asked.

"We need to talk," Ichigo said.

Ichigo took a seat and Urahara put away his ramen.

"About what?" Urahara asked.

"I've been having strange visions and hallucinations lately and they've been getting worse," Ichigo said, "It's nearly every day that they happen and now I'm seeing myself,"

"Yourself?" Urahara asked.

"I've been seeing this being and it looks exactly like me, but with a white and black Shinigami attire and white skin with black eyes," Ichigo said, "It keeps saying that it'll take over me and it attacked me today. I actually had a cut on my head after it disappeared, but there was no sign that the being was there,"

"It sounds like a Hollow," Urahara said.

"But, I thought Hollows were only after human souls?" Ichigo asked.

"Hollows are spirits and they seek to feed," Urahara said, "Sometimes, they can invade a human or Shinigami and possess them,"

"That sounds more like a demon than a Hollow," Ichigo said.

"Well, Hollows can do the same too," Urahara said.

"How does a Shinigami get possessed?" Ichigo asked.

"There're some things we do not fully understand," Urahara said.

"Some things you don't understand?" Ichigo asked, "Each time I was with Rukia, she would tell me the same time,"

"Well, yeah, there're things we don't understand," Urahara said.

Ichigo looked at Urahara closely.

"We're not ghosts, are we?" Ichigo asked.

"What do you mean? Of course we are," Urahara said.

"Don't play games with me," Ichigo said.

Urahara sat back.

"You don't think so, do you?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course we're not," Urahara said, "Shinigami bleed, age, get sick, die –,"

"Then why does everyone say that we are? What are Shinigami?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm yet to understand that myself," Urahara said, "We aren't human, but we aren't ghosts either,"

"Then why have I been told that since I became one?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know why, but I have not told that to anyone because absolutely everyone in the Sereitei believes it," Urahara said.

"Do you know that it wasn't a Hollow that killed Rukia?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, I know that," Urhara said.

"Some man came out of a portal the second the Hollows attacked and left with Orihime," Ichigo said.

"I told Yamamoto about it," Urahara said.

"Who was that guy?" Ichigo asked, "Since Shinigami only wear black, this guy must be different. He wore this strange mask too and he was dressed like a Shinigami, but in full white,"

"The Hogyoku has awoken partially and –," Urahara tried to say.

"Wait, what's the Hogyoku?" Ichigo asked.

"Aizen has a device called the Hogyoku, the Crumbling Treasure, a device that can modify the reiatsu structure of Shinigami and Hollows, thereby enhancing one into a higher form. It needs enough concentrated reiatsu for it to activate," Urahara said, "Aizen placed it in Rukia in order to absorb your energy before he took it from her when he rebelled against the Sereitei. That being who attacked you is an Arrancar,"

"And what's that?" Ichigo asked.

"It is a hybrid of a Shinigami and a Hollow and Aizen must have created it," Urahara said, "I detected it when it came, but I could not arrive quickly enough,"

"Does Yamamoto know about it?" Ichigo asked.

"He does," Urahara said.

"Do you know where Aizen is?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, but I haven't been able to pinpoint a location," Urahara said.

"You need to find Aizen and you need to take me there," Ichigo said.

"Alone? I know Orihime's your friend, but –,"

"It's not about saving Orihime, this is about revenge," Ichigo said, "A Hollow killed my mother and now Rukia died trying to save Orihime. I won't let her die for nothing. I will get Orihime back and I will avenge Rukia,"

"Ichigo, I know you're grieving, but you can't avenge Rukia by yourself," Urahara said, "Arrancar were only a theory, but now they exist. We don't know how strong they are –,"

"I will crush the bones of every Arrancar in Hueco Mundo and I will break Aizen's skull," Ichigo said, "Hollows have taken enough from me,"

Urahara frowned as he looked at Ichigo.

"Come with me," Urahara saidwith a sigh.

* * *

KUUKAKU SHIBA sat on the ground of a dirty cell of the 11th Division prison grounds in the Sereitei. Her hair was dishevelled, her skin was dry and her clothes were dirty.

A warden walked up to her cell.

"The brushwood leaves fall, but we shall rise," The warden said.

Kuukaku looked up at the warden.

"You've got any news for me?" Kuukaku asked.

"The Military Force has found the assassins," The warden said.

"All of them?" Kuukaku asked.

"I haven't brought you news of Soifon's death or our control of the Punishment Force," The warden said.

Kuukaku rose to her feet and walked up to the warden.

"Initiate the second phase," Kuukaku said.

"What about the Punishment Force?" The warden asked.

"The contingency will handle them," Kuukaku said.

The warden nodded and walked away. Kuukaku walked back to her spot and sat down.

* * *

SKYE AND May swam toward the fortress clad in armoured SCUBA gear. May wielded a sonic pulse cannon and Skye held her hands out.

Small drones moved around the parameter of the fortress. Skye caused some drones to vibrate and explode. Alarms went off in the fortress and more drones flew out of it, opening fire on them.

Skye directed water in front of them, holding the bullets in place and sent them back at the drones. May opened fire on drones that moved towards her.

"Diversion's set," May said on her earpiece, "Fitz, Mike, you're good to go,"

"Roger that," Mike said on the end.

MIKE SWAM out of the sub with Leo holding onto him. He used his rocket boosters and propelled himself towards the fortress.

"Where do you need me to go?" Mike asked.

"Just bring me within 5 feet so that I can initiate the override program," Leo said.

Mike boosted himself towards the fortress, manoeuvring around the drones. He reached within five feet of the fortress's wall.

Leo let go of Mike and pulled out a tablet. He clicked on its screen and large hanger door slid open slowly nearby.

The drones deactivated and began to sink.

"Defences are down," Leo said on his earpiece.

"Great work," Phil said.

The submarine moved towards the fortress and entered it via the hanger.

* * *

ICHIGO AND URAHARA walked into a large warehouse. Ichigo looked around as the occupants approached them.

"Hey, what do you want?!" A voice called.

Ichigo looked up and saw two women standing on an upper platform. One of them was tall, bespectacled with braided raven hair and the other was short, blonde with two side ponytails.

The blonde girl frowned at Ichigo who turned away from her.

"Urahara, it's been a while," A voice called, "It's like we're not friends,"

"We're not!" The blonde girl yelled.

A blonde man with a brown hat walked up to them, sporting a wide smirk.

"Why the unpleasant surprise?" The man asked.

"Shinji, I need your help," Urahara said.

"That's a first," Shinji said.

"Well, we don't need yours, so get lost!" The blonde girl yelled.

Shinji shook his head.

"Forgive Hiyori, she didn't mean it," Shinji said.

"I did!" Hiyori yelled.

Shinji groaned.

"Shut up, Hiyori!" Shinji yelled.

"What?" Hiyori squeaked.

"This is Ichigo Kurosaki and I believe you can help him," Urahara said, "He might be one of you,"

Shinji rose an eyebrow.

"How?" Shinji said.

"He says that he has these visions and attacks and it's obviously a Hollow in him," Urahara said.

"And you want us to help him control it?" Shinji asked.

"Control it? I want to get rid of it!" Ichigo said angrily.

"Ichigo, you're Shinigami not a human; if a spirit possesses you, there's no going back," Shinji said, "It's a part of you now,"

Ichigo furrowed his brow.

"Wait, so you're telling me I'm going to stay like this? With that thing in me?" Ichigo asked, "It's gonna haunt me forever?"

"Not if you control it," Shinji said, "It's latched onto you and now you need fight for dominance,"

Ichigo sighed.

"What should I do?" Ichigo asked.

"Hachi!" Shinji called.

"Yes?" A voice called.

A stout, moustachioed man with pink hair walked up to them from the backroom.

"This is Hachigen," Shinji said.

"Greetings," Hachigen said.

"He'll put you in a stasis that enable you enter the recesses of your mind and confront the Hollow," Shinji said, "The stasis can only last for an hour, which means you need to defeat the Hollow in your mind before it's too late,"

"I need to fight it mentally?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, it'll be like fighting out here, only your mind is the battlefield," Shinji said.

"And what happens if I don't defeat it within an hour?" Ichigo asked.

"Then the Hollow will take over you," Shinji said.

"And if I refuse to do this?" Ichigo asked.

"You don't want to refuse, you have no choice," Shinji said, "Either fight for control of your mind or wait for the Hollow to take over you,"

Ichigo frowned.

* * *

ICHIGO AND Hachigen sat on a mat in the middle of a large room in the warehouse. Urahara, Shinji, Hiyori and the raven-haired girl stood in the hall, watching from an open door.

"You think he can do it?" The raven-haired girl asked.

"We'll just have to find out, Lisa," Shinji said.

Lisa looked at Ichigo concernedly.

Ichigo and Hachigen sat across from each other with their legs crossed.

"Now, listen to me," Hachigen said, "You will only have an hour to defeat this Hollow, if you don't, the Hollow will take over and there will be no way to reverse it,"

Ichigo sighed.

"If you lose, we'll have to kill you," Hachigen said.

"I'm ready," Ichigo said.

"Now, relax and focus on my voice," Hachigen said.

Ichigo closed his eyes and calmed down.

"Breathe," Hachigen said.

Ichigo took a deep breath.

Hachigen knocked on Ichigo's forehead and he fell back. He fell unconscious.

"What? I thought he was supposed to breathe," Lisa said.

"No, I just needed to use a spell and hit a pressure point," Hachigen said.

"Then why'd you do all that stuff for?" Lisa asked.

"Well, it relaxes me," Hachigen said.

Hiyori groaned.

"So, sixty minutes," Urahara said, "Good luck, Ichigo; you're gonna need it,"

* * *

A LARGE city stood in the middle of a large cloud of mist. The clouds moved downward, the horizon being vertical with the ground out of sight.

Ichigo awoke, lying on the side of a building. He looked around and jumped to his feet.

"What the hell ...," Ichigo said in surprise.

Gravity was distorted as he was standing on the side of a building. He jumped and he landed back on the building's side. He looked to his right and there was no ground. He looked to his left and there was the infinite sky. He looked forward and the horizon aligned with the side of the building.

"What is this?" Ichigo asked himself.

"Oh, you've come to visit me," An ominous, echoing voice called.

Ichigo turned and saw the look alike being standing on the edge of the building, near its roof. The being smirked at him.

"You've come to fight me?" The being asked.

Ichigo looked at himself and realized that he was in his Shinigami attire with Zangetsu sheathed on his back.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Ichigo asked.

"Why, I'm you," The being said, "Or should I say, what you should be,"

Ichigo furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"I am your source of power, the reason why you're energy is now black," The being said.

Ichigo frowned and it clicked to him that something changed when he returned from the Sereitei. He had blue reiatsu when he was there, but after returning, it was blackish red.

"And who are you?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, I have no name," The being said, "But soon, I will rule this place,"

"This place?" Ichigo asked.

"Your mind, the place where I have been locked for years," The being said.

"For years? You just latched onto me when I became a Shinigami," Ichigo said, "You're a Hollow,"

The being chuckled.

"Do I look like a Hollow to you?" The being asked.

Ichigo took it aback.

"I've been here for years and _I am_ your source of power," The being said, "You're just borrowing it, but I'll take it back once I take over,"

"You say you've been here for years? When did you come here?" Ichigo asked.

"You tell me," The being said.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

The being drew his Zanpakutou, which was identical to Ichigo's only with inverted colours.

"Tell me what makes you think that you can defeat me in my domain?" The being said.

"Your domain? This is my mind!" Ichigo yelled.

"And who has control of your mind?" The being asked.

Ichigo growled.

"I have the power and I'm taking over your thoughts," The being said, "And now that you're here, I can take over your entire being,"

Ichigo frowned and reached for his Zanpakutou hilt.

"Come at me, Ichigo," The being said.

* * *

A SHINIGAMI walked down the halls of the 8th Division barracks weapons vault. He walked passed some Shinigami and turned into another hallway. He swiped a card through a scanner and entered a room.

The Shinigami looked around at several weapons on different racks in the room. There were security cameras in the room. He pressed a button on his sleeve.

* * *

A SHINIGAMI in a surveillance room noticed a screen that went off.

"Sir, something's going on," The Shinigami said.

Another Shinigami walked up to him.

* * *

THE SHINIGAMI walked around the weapons vault and drew his sword. He pressed a button on the sword, which opened up along the middle of it, revealing a portal inside. He grabbed different weapons and threw it into the opening in the sword. The objects seemed to disappear into a portal inside the blade the moment he put them in.

The Shinigami emptied the room of most of the weapons and left.

* * *

PHIL and his team ran down a hall along with SHIELD field agents. AIM soldiers ran into the hall.

Phil shot one down and Skye shot three of them with a seismic beam. Mike shot down the rest. The team continued and turned into another hallway.

"Mike, Skye take the hall to the left. Lance, you're with me, May take the team and secure the place," Phil ordered.

Mike and Skye turned to the left, May and some SHIELD agents took the hall to the right and Phil and Lance continued straight ahead.

* * *

MIKE AND Skye ran down a hall and came across three, bulky, 10-foot tall robots.

"And just when I thought this couldn't get any better," Skye said with a smirk.

A robot opened fire on them and they jumped in two different directions. Another robot tried to smash Skye with its fist and she rolled out of the way. She grabbed the robot's arm and vibrated her hand, causing it to explode.

Mike shot an EMP missile into a robot's neck, causing it to short out and shut down. Skye climbed onto the robot and placed her hands on its neck, vibrating them and causing the metal to break off it. She reached into the robot's circuitry and ripped out some wires. She jumped off the robot and it shorted out, falling over.

The last robot tried to shoot a missile at Skye and she held her hand out, causing the missile to explode in its hand. The robot stumbled back and Mike shot a missile at its head, destroying it. The robot fell over.

* * *

PHIL KICKED a door down and he and Lance entered a lab filled with soldiers and scientists. Phil rolled under a table, avoiding gunfire and Lance hid behind a cabinet.

Phil pulled out a grenade and tossed it out. The grenade rolled in between two soldiers and exploded, sending them falling onto apparatus on tables. Lance fired at two soldiers and kicked a chair towards another that ran towards him.

Phil rolled out of the table and swiftly shot a soldier before him and another behind him. Lance kicked down a soldier and shot him in the head. Lance and Phil got to their feet and walked up to the two scientists.

"What are you working on?" Phil asked.

The two scientists glanced at each other and chucked pills in their mouths.

"No!" Phil yelled.

Phil ran towards a scientist as he fell over, foaming at the mouth. Lance looked at a scientist, watching him as he died.

"Hmm, wonder what they were working on that was so important," Lance said.

Phil holstered his gun and turned to see Rangiku lying on a gurney with IVs stuck in her. Lance holstered his gun.

"What were they doing to her?" Lance asked rhetorically.

"This must be the unregistered gifted they took in the alley," Phil said.

Phil looked at a cardiac monitor nearby and it was nearly flat lining.

"We need a medic," Phil said into his earpiece.

Lance began to administer CPR.

* * *

MAY WALKED down the halls of the fortress after SHIELD had secured it. She entered a lab where Phil was in.

Rangiku laid on a gurney and Phil looked at her concernedly.

"How is she?" May asked.

"She's stable, but we got nothing from the scientists before they committed suicide," Phil said.

"So, this is the unregistered gifted?" May asked.

"Yeah," Phil said, "But we won't know much of what they did to her until she comes to. Maybe she heard a little of what they said during their experiments and she could tell us who she is,"

"Well, Skye's trying to hack into the main servers she found in the control room to see if we can find anything," May said.

"Okay, keep me posted," Phil said.

"Yes, sir," May said.

May left the room.

* * *

ICHIGO FELL on his back and the being swung his Zanpakutou at him. Ichigo flipped back and the being swung at him. The combatants locked blades.

The fight was tough and the being indeed was like a double of Ichigo. The being was able to copy Ichigo's Bankai perfectly in a completely white attire and had so far had not shown any other similarities. The way things were going, Ichigo was at his wit's end.

Ichigo pushed the being back and swung down at him. The being blocked, pushed Ichigo's blade up and swung at his gut. Ichigo jumped into the air and the being grabbed his face and threw him back. Ichigo fell back, bounced a couple of times off the building and fell through a window.

Ichigo held onto the floor of the building and watched the glass fall to the other end. The gravity in his mind was difficult to get used to and he had to fight the fear that he would simply fall as he stood on the side of the building.

Ichigo flew out of the window and the being lunged at him. Ichigo blocked the swing of the blade and the being flew forward, pushing Ichigo back and grazing against his blade. Ichigo pushed the being back.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo swung his blade down, sending the wave of black energy at the being. The being swung his blade, following the shape of the energy blast and wove it around with the tip of his blade. Ichigo watched in shock as the being sent the energy blast at him. Ichigo teleported out of the way and watched the Getsuga Tenshou explode behind him.

"I told you, I have all your power!"The being yelled.

The being shot a large, red Getsuga Tenshou at Ichigo who teleported away. Ichigo reappeared and the blast still caught him. Ichigo bended backward to avoid the blast and lost his balance, falling toward the building. The being appeared behind Ichigo and slashed his back, sending him crashing onto the building.

The being brandished his Zanpakutou and threw it at Ichigo. Ichigo rolled to his feet and the blade stuck onto the building. The being still held the blade from a chain connected to its hilt and he withdrew the blade, causing the chain to retract into it.

Ichigo held his back and was lucky that the being's Zanpakutou did not dig deep into his skin. He was lucky that being a Shinigami came with dense skin. Fighting in his mind felt very much like fighting in the real world and the only difference was the weird gravity. He did not know what would exactly happen if he would lose this fight, but he would not take the chance to find out.

The being threw his Zanpakutou at Ichigo repeatedly, cutting him off as he teleported. Ichigo appeared and the being threw his Zanpakutou at him. Ichigo dodged, but the blade grazed his arm as it stuck into the building. Ichigo cut the chain connected to the being's blade and flew up to him. The being teleported behind Ichigo, grabbed his Zanpakutou and slashed Ichigo's leg.

Ichigo fell on one knee and the being swung at him. Ichigo blocked and his eyes glowed blue. The being grabbed Ichigo's face and threw him several feet back.

The being shot a Getsuga Tenshou at Ichigo who teleported away. Ichigo teleported around the being repeatedly, appearing in different spots around him at such high speeds that he looked like he had clones. The being blocked Ichigo's hits and punched him.

Ichigo struggled to his feet and the being chuckled as he brandished his blade.

"This is my domain and I have all the power," The being said, "And now, I am the king of this body,"

The being flew toward Ichigo with a stab. Ichigo's eyes glowed blue and energy exuded from his body.

Ichigo grabbed the blade of the being's Zanpakutou, catching him by surprise.

"This is my body, my mind and my power," Ichigo said.

The being's Zanpakutou slowly turned from white to black from Ichigo's hand all the way to the hilt. The being's eyes widened with shock.

Ichigo stabbed the being in the gut and smirked.

"You were right; the fight did end in a second," Ichigo said.

"Oh, it's not over, Ichigo," The being said.

The being slowly started turning black from the point where Ichigo stabbed him and outward. The being grabbed the blade of Ichigo's Zanpakutou.

"I told you, there's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide," The being said.

Ichigo drove his blade deeper into the being's gut and the being slowly began to disintegrate.

"I am coming back, Ichigo," The being said, "Don't think you've won,"

The being disintegrated and disappeared, along with his Zanpakutou.

* * *

ICHIGO AWOKE in the large room and looked around. Hachigen sat across from him and looked at his wristwatch.

"Oh, I was beginning to worry that you would not make it," Hachigen said.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked.

"You've succeeded in taking control of your Hollow," Hachigen said.

Ichigo looked around and breathed heavily.

"Congratulations," Hachigen said.

"Yeah," Ichigo said.

Ichigo placed his hand on his chest. He could not believe that he had won the battle. The being's words echoed in his mind and he wondered whether he was telling the truth or just taunting him. Ichigo was not sure, but he did know that the being was gone for now.

* * *

THE SHINIGAMI walked down a hallway, bypassing other Shinigami in his path. He made a turn and saw two Shinigami on the other end.

"That's him!" One of the Shinigami said.

The Shinigami ran as the two Shinigami chased after him. He ran into another hallway and Mayuri, Nemu and three other Shinigami stood in his way.

"Now, now, let's not play games," Mayuri said, "You've already lost,"

The Shinigami frowned as the other Shinigami came up behind him. The Shinigami teleported and appeared only a few feet away. Mayuri chuckled.

"I've turned on the electron disrupters," Mayuri said, "You cannot teleport out of here,"

The Shinigami looked around and frowned.

"Fine, you've got me," The Shinigami said.

The Shinigami raised his hands.

"I surrender," The Shinigami said.

"Good," Mayuri said.

Mayuri and Nemu walked toward the Shinigami and he smirked. The Shinigami teleported up to Nemu, grabbed her and teleported to the other end of the hallway.

"Nemu!" Mayuri said angrily.

The Shinigami held Nemu hostage and placed his hand on the nape of her neck.

"Let go of her this instant," Mayuri said.

The Shinigami kicked Nemu away from him and he pulled out a bomb from his pocket. The Shinigami detonated the bomb and it exploded.

The explosion knocked Mayuri and the Shinigami off their feet. Mayuri struggled to sit up and looked at the flames that burnt part of the room.

"What is going on here?" Mayuri said.

* * *

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Data Mining

RANGIKU LAID unconscious on a gurney in a medical ward in the AIM underwater fortress. Phil stood by her bedside, stroking his chin and looking at her concernedly.

"You falling in love or something?" A familiar voice asked.

Phil turned to see Skye walk into the room.

"Just checking in," Phil said, "It's weird, the doctor didn't find any internal injuries,"

"Well, staring at her won't wake her up," Skye said.

"Yeah," Phil said.

"Did forensics find anything?" Skye asked.

"No, they searched the labs and it seems that they were running scans on her," Phil said, "From the scans, everything shows that she is a normal human,"

"How's that possible? Those guys we saw on the field dressed like her, except for one guy, and they had powers," Skye said.

"It doesn't make sense to me," Phil said, "Maybe her body will show some changes when she's conscious. Probably works when they're conscious or something,"

"Too bad Jemma isn't here, she could've probably figured stuff out," Skye said.

"Yeah," Phil said.

"And now that Leo's gone back to try and get her out of the weapon, we're also gonna need help checking the servers on the fortress," Skye said.

"We'll do what we can," Phil said.

Mac entered the room, gaining Skye and Phil's attention.

"You'd want to see this," Mac said.

* * *

MAC, SKYE and Phil entered a large room filled with SHIELD agents working on different computers. Mac led them to a large computer in the centre of the room.

"We swept the servers and it seems most of the files were deleted before we secured the fortress," Mac said.

"As usual," Phil remarked.

"But, we were able to find an AI inside the main server, thought you'd have a swing at it and see what you could find," Mac said.

"I'll get right on it," Skye said.

Skye sat at the computer and cracked her knuckles.

"Good, keep me posted," Phil said.

Phil headed for the exit.

"You're going to look at her again?" Skye asked.

"No," Phil said.

"Hey, if things don't work out with Helen, maybe you should ask her out," Skye said.

"Stop trying to set me up on dates," Phil said.

Skye chuckled and Phil left the room.

* * *

ICHIGO STOOD before Urahara, Shinji, Hiyori, Lisa, Hachigen, a grey-haired, muscular man, Kensei, a black man with an afro, Aikawa, a blonde man with long wavy hair, Rojuro, and a short, slender woman with green hair, Mashiro, in a corner of the warehouse.

"Now that you have defeated your Hollow, you will be able to control it," Hachigen said.

"And how does that work exactly?" Ichigo asked.

"It basically allows you to augment your power with Hollow reiatsu," Shinji said, "It is mostly concentrated in your head if your a Vizard, like us,"

"How did you become like this?" Ichigo asked.

"Aizen had tried to make Arrancar before and they were his earlier experiments," Urahara said, "They aren't complete Arrancar, but they do have some of their power,"

"And if you have a Hollow spirit in you, then you're like us," Shinji said.

Shinji placed his hand over his face and it glowed. Shinji thrust his hand downward and a large mask formed around his head. It was skull-like and resembled a Pharaoh's with bones at the back shaped like cornrows.

"This is what a Hollow mask looks like," Shinji said.

Shinji's voice was tremulous and immensely hoarse.

"Since you have discovered your power, you can do it easily," Shinji said.

Shinji waved his hand passed his face and the mask disintegrated.

Ichigo looked at his hand closely and held it near his face.

"Just focus your reiatsu into your hand and do the exact same motion I did," Shinji said.

Ichigo placed his hand over his face and it slowly glowed with red energy. Ichigo thrust his hand downward and a mask formed on his face. It only covered his face and was skull like. Six red lines went across the left of his face, three curving from his forehead, over his eyebrows and on the bridge of his nose and three across his cheek and near his nose.

A heavy force overwhelmed him after he donned the mask and he suddenly transformed into his Shinigami form.

"See, perfect," Shinji said.

"I can't believe he had it that easy," Kensei said.

"Well, he must be really talented," Shinji said.

"He's just a lucky punk," Kensei said.

Ichigo swept his hand over his face and the mask disintegrated. Ichigo unsheathed his Zanpakutou and tossed it away, transforming back into a human.

"Now that that is out of the way," Urahara said, stepping forward, "You're gonna need this,"

Urahara handed Ichigo a backpack and he received it.

"What's this?" Ichigo asked.

"It's your combat kit," Urahara said, "Aizen's fortress is gonna be dangerous, so Yoruichi and I prepped equipment you would need while you fought your Hollow. There's a med kit in there and some other goodies you'll need on the field,"

"He has a fortress?" Ichigo asked as he put on the backpack.

"I managed to pinpoint his location in Hueco Mundo and it seems he's built himself a large fortress. It's going to be a tough entry, so you need to be prepared,"

"Okay," Ichigo said.

"You'll also need this," Urahara said, "Put it on your wrist before you enter Hueco Mundo. It will help you hide your reiatsu so that they don't sense you coming,"

Ichigo received a patch from Urahara.

"And what about surveillance cams?" Ichigo asked.

"The backpack emits a signal that disrupts electronics," Urahara said, "I worked with Aizen for years before he turned on the Sereitei, so I know the tech he would use,"

Ichigo nodded and pocketed the patch.

"You will also need Renji," Urahara said.

Renji stepped out of a backroom and walked up to Ichigo.

"What're you doing here?" Ichigo asked angrily.

"Calm down, Ichigo," Renji said.

"How am I supposed to calm down? You're the one who captured Rukia so she'd be executed," Ichigo said.

"Well, I was in a tight corner and I was only doing my duty," Renji said, "I vouched for her and got Byakuya to save her before Aizen could kill her,"

Ichigo sighed and impatiently continued.

"Why are you here?" Ichigo asked.

"To avenge Rukia," Renji said, "We grew up together and she was my best friend,"

Ichigo frowned at him and Renji looked at him sincerely.

"They've taken a lot from both of us," Renji said.

Ichigo turned away from Renji.

"Let's go, Urahara," Ichigo said.

"We're not done yet, Ichigo," Urahara said pointing at the Vizards, "You will need their help as well,"

Ichigo looked at the Vizards then raised an eyebrow.

"All of them?" Ichigo asked.

"So, you think just because I'm a girl I can't do anything?" Hiyori yelled.

"I wasn't even talking about you," Ichigo said.

"Oh, you wanna fight?" Hiyori yelled.

Shinji pushed Hiyori back and she growled.

"Aizen ruined our lives as well," Shinji said, "Because he turned us into this, the Sereitei banished us because they no longer saw us as Shinigami. We want revenge too,"

"But I'm afraid I'm not going," Hachigen said, "I would love to help, but I am not meant for the field,"

"Kensei, Mashiro, Hiyori, Lisa, Aikawa, Rojuro and I will come with you to Hueco Mundo," Shinji said.

"Now, if you follow me," Urahara said.

* * *

URAHARA, ICHIGO, Kensei, Shinji, Rojuro, Aikawa, Lisa, Hiyori and Mashiro walked out of the warehouse and up to a spherical gateway. The Vizards and Renji had each worn a backpack like Ichigo.

"I still don't like this," Hiyori said.

"Well, you have to wear it, unless you wanna get caught in a few seconds," Aikawa said.

"This is a portal I configured for Hueco Mundo," Urahara said.

"Why can't you just send us straight to Aizen's fortress?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I still don't know how to use these things entirely," Urahara said, "But it's a work in progress and is fully tested. I threw in a teddy bear,"

"And you're sure it's safe?" Lisa asked.

"Well, I still got a signal on the other side," Urahara said.

"I don' think I wanna do this anymore," Rojuro said.

"Come on, it's safe," Urahara said.

Rojuro looked at Urahara uneasily.

Urahara pulled out a small remote from his pocket and pressed a button on it. A portal opened in the gateway.

Ichigo looked at it uneasily.

"Step aside, Ichigo," Renji said, bumping Ichigo as he walked passed, "Some of us aren't cowards,"

Renji walked up to the portal.

"I'm not a coward!" Ichigo yelled.

"Then prove it," Renji said.

Renji saluted Ichigo playfully and jumped into the portal.

Ichigo growled and jumped into the portal.

"Ladies first," Hiyori said, looking at Shinji.

Shinji groaned and pushed Hiyori into the portal. Shinji, Aikawa, Rojuro, Lisa and Mashiro jumped into the portal one after another. Kensei walked up to the portal and turned to Shinji.

"If I get stuck in another dimension, I'm coming back to kill you," Kensei said.

"Okay," Urahara said with a chuckle.

Kensei jumped into the portal.

* * *

RENJI, ICHIGO, Shinji, Hiyori, Mashiro, Kensei, Aikawa, Rujuro and Lisa ran down the cave in the Precipice World with Renji in the lead.

"Ha, you guys are too slow," Renji said.

"This isn't a race," Lisa said.

"And that's only because you jumped in first!" Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo sprinted past Renji.

"Oh, that's how it is, huh?" Renji said.

Renji and Ichigo sprinted, one surpassing the other and interchanging. Lisa shook her head angrily.

"Will you two stop fooling around!" Kensei yelled.

"Ugh, I shouldn't have come along with these bozos," Hiyori said.

"Hey, why should I be at the back?" Mashiro whined.

Lisa shook her head and turned around. She stopped running and Mashiro bumped into her, getting knocked off her feet.

"Hey!" Mashiro yelled.

Lisa ignored Mashiro and walked in the direction they came from.

"Lisa, what're you doing? The Cleaner's coming," Mashiro called.

Lisa walked on and stared at the darkness. Mashiro stood and walked up to her.

"Hello!" Mashiro yelled.

"Where's the Cleaner?" Lisa asked.

"What?" Mashiro asked.

The guys ahead stopped running and walked back to them.

"Lisa, Mashiro, we've gotta go," Kensei yelled.

"The Cleaner's supposed to have been chasing us by now, but it isn't," Lisa said.

"What could have happened then?" Renji asked.

"It doesn't make any sense," Lisa said.

Ichigo did not follow the guys as they walked up to Lisa and he was staring at the walls. They slowly turned purple and a small cloud moved out of a wall and into another one.

Ichigo frowned as he saw part of the wall turn purple. The guys turned to Ichigo and Renji walked up to him.

"Ichigo, you okay?" Renji asked.

Ichigo looked at Renji confusedly.

"You can't see that?" Ichigo asked.

"What?" Renji asked.

"That cloud," Ichigo said.

Ichigo pointed at a purple cloud that floated over him. Renji looked at where he pointed and saw nothing but the cave's wall.

"What cloud?" Renji asked.

Ichigo looked and the cloud was still there.

"What're you talking about?" Renji asked.

Ichigo furrowed his brow, confused at the fact that he could see the cloud, but Renji could not.

"Okay, let's not waste any more time," Shinji said.

Shinji ran down the cave and the others followed him. Ichigo looked around and followed them slowly.

* * *

ICHIGO and the guys fell out of a Garganta and crashed onto the white sands of Hueco Mundo, clumped on top of one another.

"Get of me," Hiyori strained.

Hiyori pushed Ichigo off her and got to her feet. The guys got to their feet and Mashiro beat her hands on the sand like a child.

"You guys are mean!" Mashiro cried.

"Ugh, grow up," Kensei yelled.

"Say sorry," Mashiro yelled.

Kensei groaned and walked away from Mashiro who remained having a tantrum on the ground.

"You're just a jerk, Kensei," Mashiro yelled.

"Why you," Kensei said angrily.

"Mashiro, just get up," Lisa said.

Mashiro rose to her feet and pouted. The guys dusted themselves and Ichigo walked on.

"Alright, let's get moving," Ichigo said.

The guys continued walking and stopped when they heard people shouting nearby. They turned to see three figures running away from a large hollow.

One of them had green hair, a horizontal red mark that ran across her nose and was clad a tattered green shirt and skirt with no shoes. She had a large skull on her head and a scar that went down to the right side of her face that aligned with the crack on the mask.

Another wore a skull over his head and wore a purple shirt underneath white armour on his torso and purple trousers and no shoes. The other one wore a large Tikki-Tikki mask over a puffy, yellow costume with black polka dots without shoes.

"Help, help!" The girl screamed.

"What's a human doing here?" Shinji asked.

"No point in asking questions," Ichigo said.

Ichigo flew toward the Hollow and drew out his Zanpakutou.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo swung his Zanpakutou down and sent a wave of black energy at the Hollow, washing over it and leaving its corpse on fire. Ichigo landed and sheathed his Zanpakutou.

The trio continued running.

"Hey, the Hollow's gone!" Ichigo yelled.

The trio continued running. Ichigo groaned and teleported up in front of them.

"Hey, I killed the Hollow, it's fi –,"

The girl bumped into Ichigo and the two fell over. The girl groaned as she got up and quickly backed away.

"Oh, sorry," The girl said.

Ichigo got to his feet as the men helped the girl up. The Vizards walked up to Ichigo.

"Are you okay, Nel?" One of the men asked.

"Yeah," Nel said.

Ichigo looked closely at Nel and frowned.

"You're Arrancar, aren't you?" Ichigo asked.

"No we're not Arrancars," Nel said.

"This is so weird," Lisa said shaking her head.

"What the hell am I looking at," Shinji asked.

"I'm Pesche," The man clad in purple said.

"And I'm Dondochakka," The man in the Tikki-Tikki mask said.

"And we're the Southern Sand Raiders," The trio said unanimously.

Ichigo, Renji and the Vizards looked at them disapprovingly.

"And you raid what?" Lisa asked.

"Well, we go around and raid stuff," Nel said.

"From who?" Lisa asked.

The trio looked around.

"Other Hollows," Nel said.

"Why would Arrancar waste time 'raiding' Hollows?" Hiyori asked.

"Well, there's nothing else we could do around here," Nel said, "We're not allowed in Las Noches and it's the only thing we garbage bugs can do other than raid and play eternal tag,"

"Garbage bugs?" Ichigo asked.

Nel looked away from Ichigo uneasily.

"Eternal tag? Can I play?" Mashiro asked excitedly.

"Well, we've gotta get going," Shinji said, "Las Noches isn't that far off,"

"You're going to Las Noches?" Nel yelled, "Only high level Arrancar are allowed there,"

"Well, we're not Arrancar," Ichigo said.

"What are you then?" Dondochakka asked.

Pesche looked at them and he, Dondochakka and Nel donned shocked expressions.

"You're Shinigami," They exclaimed.

"You're gonna kill us all!" Nel yelled.

"You're the bad guys," Dondochakka yelled.

"We don't have time for this, let's get moving," Kensei said.

The Vizards walked on and Renji waved.

"Nice meeting ya," Renji said, "Sorta,"

Renji followed the Vizards and Ichigo turned to Nel.

"You can't go there," Nel exclaimed, "You wanna kill them?"

"I've got something important to do and I'm not backing down," Ichigo said.

Ichigo smiled slightly and walked on. Nel looked at Ichigo worriedly then sighed.

"Hey! I'm coming with you!" Nel called out.

"Yeah, no, we've got our idiot quota filled," Hiyori said.

"You're gonna need my help!" Nel yelled.

"Just ignore her," Shinji said.

The Vizards and Renji walked away.

"You should stay here, Nel," Ichigo said.

"No, I'm coming with you," Nel said.

Ichigo furrowed his brow as he looked at Nel closely. The skull she wore on her head did interest him and thought that she was an Arrancar. She did seem harmless and he needed to get going.

"Okay, let's get going," Ichigo said.

Nel grinned.

"Let's go guys," Nel said.

"Coming," Dondochakka said.

Ichigo, Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka walked toward the others.

* * *

MAYURI STOOD before a computer, looking at photos of the Shinigami infiltrator's corpse. So far, there was no info about the infiltrator in their records. He felt that he should look over the results over and over to figure out something about the infiltrator.

He looked through photos one more time and studied a tattoo on the corpse's left shoulder. He recognised the tattoo and frowned.

* * *

MAYURI WALKED down the halls of Division 8, heading for Division 1 when he came across Nemu

"Nemu, I expected you to be still undergoing treatment," Mayuri said.

"Well, it was faster than I thought," Nemu said.

"Well, if you move out of my way, I've got to see Captain Yamamoto," Mayuri said as he walked passed her, "The sleeper Shinigami was a member of the Shiba Clan. He need to see this right away,"

"Before you do that," Nemu said then stood in his way, "I want to show you something in my office,"

"Show me what? Get out of my way, Nemu," Mayuri said.

"Come on, I swear it's important," Nemu said.

Nemu touched Mayur's shoulder lightly.

"Fine," Mayuri sighed.

Nemu led the way back to her office and entered it.

"So, what is it?" Mayuri asked.

Nemu closed the door behind her and locked it.

"What're you doing?" Mayuri asked.

Nemu donned a sly smirk and Mayuri frowned.

"If you called me to play games, Nemu, then you're going to get yourself punished," Mayuri said.

Nemu sauntered toward Mayuri.

"You know, we've been working a lot lately," Nemu said, "It'd be nice to take a break, wouldn't it?"

"Stop wasting my time," Mayuri said.

Mayuri walked passed Nemu, heading for the door and she held his hand.

"Come on, Mayuri," Nemu said, "Let's stay here for a while,"

Mayuri raised his eyebrow and she closed her eyes halfway.

"What do you want?" Mayuri asked impatiently.

"I just wanna spend some time here," Nemu said, "Just you and me,"

Nemu brushed her hand on Mayuri's chest and placed it on his neck.

"It's been long since we spent some time by ourselves," Nemu said.

"We never did," Mayuri said.

Nemu pressed her cheek against his, breathing into his ear.

"Come on, just stay here with me for a little while," Nemu said.

Nemu licked Mayuri's ear and placed her hand into his pants. Mayuri breathed uneasily.

"Come on, Mayuri," Nemu said.

* * *

KUUKAKU sat in her prison cell and a warden stood by, watching the hallways. She had an earpiece that emitted a hologram that wove around her face, forming the shape of shades. In the interface was a live feed from Nemu's perspective as she controlled her and made her seduce Mayuri.

Nemu had sat Mayuri on his chair and sat astride on his lap.

* * *

SKYE KEYBOARDED on the main computer in the AIM fortress's computer room. Phil walked up to her.

"You got anything for me?" Phil asked.

"I've found that this AI calls itself MODOK, that's all I can get," Skye said.

"You've found nothing?" Phil asked.

"I've tried to, but the coding is too advanced," Skye said, "I've never seen anything like it,"

"Keep trying, we've gotta find out what AIM is doing before they make another move," Phil said, "They might send reinforcements and try to retake this place,"

"I'm trying my be – oh, I've found something," Skye said.

"What'd you find?" Phil asked.

"They're coordinates for some place in Western Europe, it's a building, but I can't see a name on it," Skye said.

"Well, keep trying, you're bound to find something soon enough," Phil said.

Several screens with code popped up on the computer screen. Skye typed hurriedly.

"What's happening?" Phil asked.

"The AI's crashing the computer and deleting the files," Skye said.

"Can't you stop it?" Phil asked.

"I'm trying, but –,"

The computer went off and so did all the other computers in the room.

"Oh great, the AI crashed the server," Skye said, "Now the computers are fried,"

"Well, at least you still have the coordinates," Phil said.

"Yeah," Skye said.

Skye drew her phone and wrote down the coordinates.

"Prep a team and find out what's in the building," Phil said.

"Got it," Skye said.

Skye got up and left the room.

* * *

ICHIGO AND his team walked up to the walls of a massive, domical building that made them look like ants in comparison. They looked up and couldn't see the top of the wall.

"Whoa," Mashiro said in awe.

"Big deal," Hiyori said.

"Are you sure we should go in there?" Nel whimpered.

"Yea, we better get movi –," Shinji tried to say.

Several men fell toward them from above, surrounding Ichigo and his team. Dondochakka and Pesche screamed.

"W-we're in trouble," Dondochakka yelled.

"Oh no, it's the Exequias," Nel said.

"The what?" Ichigo asked.

"The Exequias," Nel said, "They're the highest level guard in Las Noches,"

The men were clad in white Shingami attire and had skulls for heads.

"Great, the action came early," Hiyori said with a smirk.

The guys drew their Zanpakutou and Nel, Dondochakka and Pesche ran off.

The guys fought off the men and spread out. Ichigo slashed two men, dodged a slash and punched another man, breaking his skull into pieces. Kensei punched a man, kicked another one and grabbed another one's head, crushing it into pieces.

"Mashiro flip!" Mashiro said as she flipped over, "Mashiro super drop kick," she dropkicked a man "Mashiro Spring board," she spring boarded off his head, "Mashiro Super Spinning kick!" and she kicked three others as she twirled in the air.

Aikawa cut down a man, blocked another's slash, cut his gut and stabbed another that lunged at him. Shinji wove through several sword slashes, decapitating three men and slashing two others' legs off. Hiyori kicked a man's gut, slashed another's arm off, stabbed one in the eye and decapitated another one. Lisa cut down two men, sidestepped from a slash and cut a man's head off. Rojuro cut down two men, dodged a slash and stabbed a man's chest. Renji spun his blade around, the demarcated sections splitting, held by the chain links, allowing him to whip several men around him.

A man with a horned skull for a head walked toward the fight. Two portals opened beside him and more skulled men ran out of it. The men massed around Ichigo and his friends and their numbers were overwhelming.

Some men moved to attack Nel and Pesche, Dondochakka and Ichigo cut them down.

"There're too many of them," Ichigo said.

"How'd they find us anyways? Shouldn't the patches have hidden our reiatsu and helped us evade surveillance?" Kensei asked.

"They must've just seen us," Shinji said as he cut a man down, "They fell from the wall so they must've been watching from the wall,"

Ichigo kicked a man down, flipped over another's attack and landed, slashing his back in half.

"We should split up and regroup," Ichigo said, "We can't fight them like this,"

"Hey, you can't give us orders," Hiyori yelled.

"Ichigo's right, we have to split up and regroup when we're in Las Noches," Shinji said.

Ichigo ran away from the men.

"Nel, come on!" Ichigo yelled.

Nel, Dondochakka and Pesche followed Ichigo as he ran alongside the wall.

"We're gonna die!" Nel cried.

"We're not gonna die," Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo, Nel, Dondochakka and Pesche ran along the wall and came across Hiyori who appeared before them.

"What're you guys doing here?" Hiyori yelled.

"Same as you, trying to split up," Ichigo said.

"Well, I don't need your he –,"

Hiyori's leg began to sink into the sand.

"What's going on?" Hiyori asked.

"Oh, crap, it's quicksand," Ichigo said.

Hiyori sunk deeper into the sand and began flailing around.

"Get me outta this stuff!" Hiyori yelled.

"Stop moving or you'll sink faster," Ichigo said.

Hiyori screamed and kept on flailing her arms. Ichigo groaned and grabbed her hand.

"Hold on," Ichigo said.

Ichigo tried to pull Hiyori, but the sand was too strong.

"Ichigo," Nel said.

Nel wrapped her arms around Ichigo's waist, trying to help him pull.

"Nel!" Dondochakka yelled.

Dondochakka and Pesche pulled Nel and the sand sucked all of them in.

* * *

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


	5. Recall

Crickets chirped and bushes rustled. SKYE, MAY and Lance hid behind some bushes, looking at a large building across the street in the night.

"You sure this is the place? It looks empty," Lance said.

"This is where the coordinates led," Skye said.

"Did you do any scans on the building?" May asked.

"Infrared scans showed several hostiles on the upper levels and one powerful energy source underneath that building," Skye said.

"Any idea what the energy source is?" Lance asked.

"None, its energy emitted waves that created interference with the scans," Skye said.

"Then we have to move quickly," May said.

Skye nodded and pressed a button on her earpiece.

"Strike team, move in," Skye said.

A SHIELD sniper perched in a tree and shot down surveillance cameras outside the building. Six soldiers ran up to the building and massed around the main entrance. One of them placed a device against the door and it flickered. It beeped and he withdrew it.

The soldiers ran into the building and searched it.

"Main concourse secure," One soldier said on the other end.

"Alright, second team, move in," Skye said into her earpiece.

Soldiers massed around the building and entered it. Skye, Lance and May drew their guns and cocked them.

"Let's go," Skye said.

Skye, Lance and May ran into the building, passed the soldiers.

* * *

SKYE, MAY and Lance entered the main concourse of the building, which was expansive and dim and looked like an office room. They donned goggles and switched to infrared. They looked around the room and saw some heat signatures moving around in the next room.

Skye gestured for two soldiers to head for a door and they quietly did so. One soldier placed a bomb on the door and it gave out a low whine. Skye and May hid behind a table on the left side of the room and Lance on the right side.

The bomb exploded and the two soldiers ran into the room. They came across gunfire and fought off the soldiers inside.

Skye gestured for more soldiers to enter the room and she, May and Lance followed soon after.

Skye, Lance and May entered the room and shot soldiers inside. A SHIELD soldier placed a bomb underneath a table and kicked it toward three soldiers at a corner of the room. The table exploded and the resultant wave knocked down some soldiers.

Skye rolled on the ground, avoiding gunfire and she shot down a soldier while sending out a seismic beam to another with her free hand. She twirled around, firing at two soldiers to her right with her hand, blasting three to her left with seismic beams while dodging oncoming gunfire.

May flipped over a table and landed with a heel kick on a soldier. She rolled on the ground and tossed a grenade on the ground that exploded and knocked down some soldiers. She kicked a chair near her, bumping a soldier and she shot his head as he fell over.

Lance shot a soldier twice in the face, ducked from a grenade thrown at him, fired the soldier who threw it and dived away from the blast. He stood up, punched a soldier, elbowed his ribs, kicked his shin and shot his neck.

Skye shot a seismic beam at the ground that spread and launched three soldiers into the air. She shot them in mid air as they fell, hitting one in the head, another in the neck and another in the stomach. The beam spread, tripping a man nearby and he dropped a grenade. The grenade spun in the air and she shot it, sending it smacking against a soldier and letting it explode, killing three soldiers beside him.

* * *

A SHIELD soldier shot down the last soldier and walked up to Skye.

"The room is secure," The soldier said.

"But it's far from the last one," May said.

"Let's keep moving," Skye said.

Skye, May, Lance and some SHIELD soldiers proceeded to the next room.

* * *

ICHIGO, NEL, Dondochakka, Pesche and Hiyori ended up in a tunnel after they fell into the quicksand. As they had began to suffocate in the sand, Ichigo broke a pile of rocks that was underneath them and they had ended up in the tunnel. It was only minutes ago that they had ran out of the collapsing sand and they were able to walk freely.

"So, where's this Las Noches place, anyways?" Hiyori asked.

"I don't know, this place is new to me," Nel said.

"Well, we'll have to keep walking then," Ichigo said.

"Oh, this place is creepy," Dondochakka said, whimpering, "And dark, you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, you gotta flashlight or something?" Pesche asked loudly.

"Shut up, or we may attract some underground Hollow or something," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, and they will also ask for a flashlight," Pesche said.

"Why would a bloodthirsty beast ask for a flashlight?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, since he's thirsty, he'd need the light so that he could see his juice box and probably share it with us," Pesche said.

"Yeah, I could use a drink right about now, you know what I'm talking about?" Dondochakka said.

"Yeah, like strawberry or –,"

"Shut up, numbskull!" Hiyori said, punching Pesche.

"Finally," Ichigo said.

"Hey, and you, you don't get to tell me what to do!" Hiyori yelled.

"Well, I'm the strongest here and I get to, so –,"

Hiyori kicked Ichigo in the back and he reached for his Zanpakutou hilt.

"You little –,"

"What, gonna hit a girl?" Hiyori asked.

"Yeah, you're right," Ichigo said, withdrawing from the hilt, "I might break your toothpick bones,"

Hiyori kicked at Ichigo's groin and he jumped back before she could.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked.

"What? I couldn't hear you, your bad breath made me deaf," Hiyori said.

"Well, you're dumb brain's now mixing up senses," Ichigo said.

"Look who's talking about dumb, retaliating with childish comebacks," Hiyori said.

Ichigo groaned and walked on.

"Just shut the hell up or stay behind," Ichigo said.

"Fine, I will," Hiyori said.

Hiyori folded her arms and Nel, Dondochakka and Pesche walked passed her, following Ichigo. She sighed and followed them.

"If this tunnel's so close to Las Noches' wall, then it must go underneath the fortress," Ichigo said.

"What do you wanna do?" Dondochakka asked worriedly.

"I'm gonna try and bust through the roof of this tunnel," Ichigo said.

Ichigo drew his Zanpakutou and Nel screamed.

"What're you crazy? You could bury us in here," Hiyori said.

"Well, let's find out," Ichigo said.

"No, don't!" Nel yelled.

Dondochakka and Pesche screamed as Ichigo swung at the roof of the tunnel, cutting through the rocks. The guys jumped back as rocks crashed down. A hole opened above them, letting in light from above.

"See?" Ichigo said cockily, sheathing his Zanpakutou.

Nel pointed at the hole worriedly.

"Crap," Ichigo said.

The guys ran away as the hole expanded, pouring rocks down behind them. The rocks nearly crushed Pesche and Ichigo grabbed his hand, pulling him forward. The downpour ceased and the guys stopped, panting heavily.

Ichigo stood up and looked back. The rocks fell down in a slanted formation that would allow them to simply walk up to the upper level.

Ichigo smirked and Hiyori kicked his leg.

"Try that again and I'm gonna hack your leg off!" Hiyori yelled.

"Stop kicking me!" Ichigo yelled.

"Hey, you guys see that?" Dondochakka asked.

The guys looked at the hole again and noticed that the light was immensely bright. They could see glimpses of blue skies through the nearly blinding light.

"What's going on here?" Pesche asked.

"Let's find out," Ichigo said.

The guys climbed up the rocks and Nel stayed back. Ichigo turned to her and looked at her worried eyes.

"I'm scared," Nel said.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Ichigo said.

"No, it's dangerous. We're not supposed to be in Las Noches," Nel said, "It's only for the Espadas,"

"What are Espadas?" Ichigo asked.

"They're the top Arrancar and part of the an elite army that runs Las Noches," Nel said.

"And you aren't an Arrancar?" Ichigo asked.

"No, I'm not," Nel said.

"What about that skull on your head?" Ichigo asked, "I don't know much about Arrancar, but that's a sure sign that you're part Hollow,"

"I don't know why it's on my head," Nel said.

"What do you mean you don't know? Hasn't it been there the whole time?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm not sure," Nel said, "I … I don't remember anything about my childhood,"

"Ugh, please, let's just kill her and move on," Hiyori said.

"Wait, don't kill her!" Dondochakka yelled.

"Yeah, let's talk this out or something," Pesche said.

Hiyori reached for her Zanpakutou and Ichigo held her arm, stopping her.

"Hey, let go of me," Hiyori yelled.

"Hold on a sec," Ichigo said then turned to Nel, "What do you mean you don't remember your childhood?"

"Just that," Nel said, "A few months ago, I awoke in the desert outside Las Noches. I can't remember anything else before that,"

"How can you tell time around here?" Hiyori asked, "Isn't it always night in Hueco Mundo?"

"I don't know, I can just tell when time has passed," Nel said.

"How do you not remember anything?" Ichigo asked.

"She must be some kinda spy made by Aizen, it must be why she has no memory," Hiyori said.

"Who's Aizen?" Nel asked.

"Uh, nobody," Dondochakka said uneasily.

"Aizen? What's an Aizen?" Pesche said, feigning ignorance, "Nope, no Aizen around here,"

Ichigo looked at Pesche and Dondochakka curiously.

"Why aren't you telling her about Ai –," Ichigo tried to say.

Pesche placed his hand over Ichigo's mouth.

"Please, let's not talk about you-know-who," Pesche said.

Hiyori frowned then turned to Nel.

"As much as I like Harry Potter, I say we kill her," Hiyori said.

Ichigo cut Hiyori off as she walked toward Nel.

"No, don't," Ichigo said.

"Why? We came to kill off Arrancar and Nel's obviously one of 'em," Hiyori said.

Ichigo turned to Nel then turned to Hiyori.

"Look, I have questions, just like you, but she clearly isn't a threat," Ichigo said.

"And you know that how?" Hiyori asked.

"I don't know, but what if she's like you? What if she's a Vizard and got trapped here," Ichigo said.

"She's not a Vizard. Aizen did this to us in the Sereitei over a hundred years ago," Hiyori said.

"A hundred?" Ichigo asked.

"I may look like a kid to you, but I've lived way, way longer than you have," Hiyori said.

"How? I thought Shinigami age," Ichigo said.

"There're things you don't know, Ichigo," Hiyori said.

Ichigo groaned.

"I had a life, alright? I was a lieutenant in the Sereitei and things were going good for me," Hiyori said, "Then Aizen turned us into this and the Sereitei banished us because they saw us as Hollows. She's obviously been here her whole life and she is an Arrancr,"

"You don't know that," Ichigo said.

"Well, I'd rather not take my chances," Hiyori said, unsheathing her Zanpakutou, "I'm gonna kill her,"

Ichigo cut her off again.

"Step aside or I'm gonna kill you," Hiyori said.

"Hiyori, look I know I wasn't there and I don't know how it feels to have everyone look at you like some monster, but this is our chance to take revenge on Aizen," Ichigo said.

"Which is why I wanna kill her," Hiyori said.

"Why would you want to kill someone who is like you?" Ichigo asked, "If she is indeed a Vizard, killing her will be doing Aizen's work for him,"

Hiyori gnashed her teeth and clenched her Zanpakutou hilt tightly.

"We're here to take Aizen down, not kill his victims for him," Ichigo said.

Hiyori sighed, sheathed her Zanpakutou and walked on.

"Fine, but if she turns on us, I'm gonna kill her," Hiyori said.

Ichigo turned to Nel and smiled at her slightly.

"She won't turn on us," Ichigo said.

Nel looked at Ichigo, wondering what he was thinking as he looked at her.

"Alright, let's get moving," Ichigo said.

The guys walked up the pile of rocks and ended up in another large sandy plain. The sun shone brightly in the sky and there were many large and grey edifices with large flags draped along their walls varying in colour.

The guys were awestruck, except for Ichigo and Hiyori, who were confused.

"What the hell," Ichigo said.

"Isn't Hueco Mundo supposed to be a realm of eternal night?" Hiyori asked.

"It is," Nel said.

"Then what is this?" Ichigo asked.

"We're inside Las Noches," Nel said, "People said that it was different from the rest of Hueco Mundo, but I didn't know it was this different,"

"Maybe it's some kinda tech or something," Ichigo said.

"This is so cool," Dondochakka said.

"Well, we're not here to sight see, let's get moving," Hiyori said.

"Yeah," Ichigo said.

Ichigo and Hiyori ran on.

"Hey, wait up!" Nel yelled.

"Yeah," Dondochakka yelled.

Nel, Dondochakka and Pesche ran after the.

The men in white with skulls for heads walked down the tunnel and saw the hole in its roof.

* * *

SKYE, MAY and Lance led a team of SHIELD soldiers down a dim hallway while some others searched the building. Skye was in the front, letting a torch attached to her gun brighten their path.

They reached a door and Skye kicked it down. The trio trained their guns around and saw that the dim room was empty. They walked into it and found that its floor was actually one large spiralling staircase that scaled across the wall and down to another room. A blue glowing light emerged from down below.

Skye walked up to the guardrail and could see scientists busy at work on something. May and Lance looked in as well.

"Let me have a look," Skye said in a hushed tone.

Skye reached to leap over the rail and May held her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"No, don't," May said in a hushed tone.

"What is it?" Skye asked.

"You don't want to set off some kind of explosion," May said, "That may be the source of the energy sigs and we don't know what it's capable of,"

"Yeah, you're right," Skye said with a sigh.

Skye signalled for the SHIELD agents to move along the stairwell and she, Lance and May followed them.

* * *

KUUKAKU turned off the earpiece with which she had controlled Nemu and she pocketed it.

"That should hold them off for now," Kuukaku said to herself.

A warden walked up to the cell.

"The brushwood leaves fall, but we shall rise," The warden said.

Kuukaku stood up and walked up to the warden.

"What's your progress?" Kuukaku asked.

"Mayuri's men caught the first sleeper," The warden said.

"Did they break him?" Kuukaku asked.

"No," The warden responded.

"Good," Kuukaku said, "What about the weapons?"

"The sleeper managed to steal some and put them in the Rift," The warden said.

"Well, then; I believe it's time for the contingency," Kuukaku said.

The warden nodded. He unlocked her cell and walked into it. He pulled out Shinigami attire from a satchel he had and tossed it to her.

"We have to move quickly," The warden said.

Kuukaku nodded. A Shinigami walked up to the cell door and stood there. The warden looked at him worriedly, but received an assuring nod.

The warden turned to Kuukaku who had disrobed. She put on the Shinigami attire and handed him her old clothes. He walked up to a wall in the room and pushed it, revealing a secret compartment that had a Zanpakutou in it. He pulled it out, tossed it to Kuukaku and placed her clothes in the compartment, closing it after.

"Let's move," Kuukaku said.

Kuukaku and the warden left the cell. The Shinigami closed the cell and pressed a button on his belt. A holographic image of Kuukaku laid on the prison floor came on.

Kuukaku and the warden walked down the halls.

* * *

SKYE, MAY, Lance and her team were halfway down the stairwell when they heard some clamouring. Skye looked at the bottom of the stairwell and saw that the scientists were leaving.

"Dammit!" Skye said.

"They got away," May said.

"I'll cut 'em off," Skye said.

Skye jumped over the guardrail and descended toward the bottom floor. A scientist pulled out a device and threw it at her. The device exploded, sending a wave that knocked her back onto a wall.

The scientist ran out of the room and Skye plummeted to the ground.

May and Lance reached the floor and ran up to Skye. The SHIELD soldiers followed the scientists who had ran out a door nearby.

"Are you alright?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, sorta," Skye said.

Skye rose to her feet and May looked around the room.

There were several machines in the room, but the one that caught their attention was in the middle of the room. There was a large round machine divided into several circles, with one part in the middle. She walked up to a control unit nearby and started keyboarding on it.

Several columns of code came on the holographic interface.

"Uh, Skye," May called.

Skye walked up to the interface and saw the code.

"What's this mean?" May asked.

"It's deleting all its files," Skye said.

Skye hurriedly started keyboarding and a red circular icon came on it.

"Crap," Skye said.

"What's that mean?" May asked.

"It's already done deleting everything," Skye said with a sigh.

"Now what?" Lance asked.

A SHIELD soldier entered the room and ran up to Skye.

"We failed to capture the hostiles," The soldier said.

"Anything from the Strike team?" Skye asked.

"They've found nothing either," The soldier said, "They engaged some, but none of them survived long enough for questioning,"

"Well that sucks," Lance said.

"But we've found something else," The soldier said.

"What is it?" Skye asked.

* * *

SKYE, LANCE, May and the SHIELD soldier stood before a large metallic door in a dim hallway. A large pipe came out of it and ran down the wall along the hallway.

"It's probably made of a reinforced metal, maybe titanium," The soldier said.

"You've been unable to open it?" Skye asked.

"And infrared scans are unable to penetrate it," The soldier said.

"It must be housing something important," May said.

"Let's find out," Skye said.

Skye walked up to the door and looked at a keypad nearby. She pulled out a phone and ran it passed a keypad near the door. The phone scanned the keypad.

Skye frowned.

"Something wrong?" May asked.

"I can't pick up anything," Skye said.

"How's that possible?" Lance asked.

"I don't know; I should have picked up fingerprints on the most keyed in buttons, but there's nothing here," Skye said.

"Try something else," May said.

Skye opened a port on the side of the phone and drew out a small cable on the it. She connected the phone to the keypad and several columns of code came on the phone screen.

"So, how long could this take?" May asked.

"I dunno, we'll have to wait and see," Skye said.

Lance sighed and looked around.

"I'll search the building," Lance said.

Lance ran down the hall.

* * *

ICHIGO, HIYORI, Nel, Dondochakka and Pesche ran down a large hallway.

"Well, this is kinda calm, don't ya think?" Hiyori asked.

"Probably because Urahara's tech is working," Ichigo said, "If we didn't have 'em, we probably would've hit some booby traps or something,"

"Then what about them? They don't have anything," Hiyori asked, pointing at Nel and her friends.

"Well, maybe we're just in a blind spot," Ichigo said.

Hiyori looked at Nel curiously.

"Okay," Hiyori said unsurely.

Dondochakka whimpered as he looked around the hall. He whimpered louder and louder and it got on Hiyori's nerves.

"Will you shut up!" Hiyori yelled.

"This place is weirding me out," Dondochakka said.

"Well, your face weirds me out, so we're on the same boat," Hiyori said.

"Seriously, this place is creepy," Dondochakka said.

"Well, I don't care," Hiyori said.

Dondochakka heard his own foot squeak on the shiny floor and he screamed, jumping onto Hiyori and clinging to her.

"What was that?" Dondochakka asked.

"It's the sound of me cracking your skull if you don't get off me!" Hiyori yelled.

Hiyori tossed Dondochakka off her and he screamed as he fell.

"That hurt!" Dondochakka cried.

"Good!" Hiyori yelled.

"Ugh, will you two shut up! Just because the tech hides our reiatsu doesn't mean people can't hear us if their nearby," Ichigo said.

Dondochakka started crying loudly.

"Oh, here come the water works," Pesche said.

"You're mean," Dondochakka said while crying.

"I said shut up!" Ichigo yelled as he kicked Dondochakka's mask.

"Ooh, ow! That hurt," Dondochakka cried, "Why'd you have to go and do that, huh?"

Dondochakka cried even louder and Ichigo groaned.

"See what I was saying? Lemme just kill 'em," Hiyori said as she reached for her Zanpakutou.

"Just leave them, Hiyori," Ichigo said.

Hiyori groaned and walked on. The men with skulls for heads ran down the hall after them.

"Great, these guys again," Ichigo said angrily.

Ichigo and Hiyori drew their Zanpakutou and charged at them.

Ichigo slashed a man across his chest, dodged a swung from another and slashed his back. He flipped over a slash and slashed the assailants neck in midair. He rolled to his feet and slashed at another man, locking blades with him. He kicked another man as he locked blades with the man and he head butted him, knocking him off his feet. Ichigo slashed the man across his chest and ran on.

Hiyori weaved through two slashes, cut a man across his gut, rolled away from another slash and stabbed the assailant. She dislodged her Zanpakutou, kicked a man behind her without turning, ducked from a slash and cut the assailant's leg off. She punched a man in the gut, dodged a slash from behind and stabbed the assailant's knee. She grabbed the man's neck and flipped him over, dislodging her blade and slamming him onto another man simultaneously.

Ichigo shot a small Getsuga Tenshou wave, washing over two men and leaving their corpses on fire. He flew over three men, slashing them across their shoulders and he landed behind them. He rolled away from two men swinging at him and he slashed them across their necks. He ran on a wall, flipped over and shot a Getsuga Tenshou down on four men, burning their corpses. The wave hit the ground and exploded as he landed on his feet.

"Hey, quit it with the beams or you're gonna blow our cover!" Hiyori yelled.

"Yeah, sorry," Ichigo said.

Ichigo sheathed his Zanpakutou.

"Let's keep moving," Ichigo said.

A man with a skull for a head fell over and Ichigo turned around, reaching for his Zanpakutou. Shinji sheathed his Zanpakutou and walked up to them.

"Oh, it's you," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, kinda got lost back there," Shinji said.

"Where're the others?" Ichigo asked.

"I dunno, I just followed the explosions and here I am," Shinji said.

"See! You're gonna draw attention!" Hiyori yelled.

"Well, sorry, my bad," Ichigo said.

"Enough wasting time, let's keep moving," Shinji said.

The guys keep moving.

* * *

RENJI CUT down a man with a skull for a head while Rojuro, Kensei, Lisa, Aikawa and Mashiro fought other skull men in a hallway of a Las Noches building.

"Mashiro Super Dropkick!" Mashiro yelled as she dropkicked a man.

She kicked him with so much force that he fell over six others and crashed onto a wall. Kensei blocked two sword slashes from a man and kneed him in the gut, sending him hurling several feet back. Lisa slashed down two men, twirled away from a slash and stabbed the assailant in the head. Aikawa slashed a man down when a beam suddenly shot at his chest.

"Aikawa," Mashiro gasped.

Another beam shot Rojuro in the gut.

"Rojuro!" Kensei yelled.

The masked man who killed Rukia walked down the opposite end of the hall, wielding his spear. The masked man shot a beam at Kensei who rolled out of the way.

"You foolish Shingami never learn," The masked man said.

The masked man shot a beam at Renji who blocked it with his blade.

"Lord Aizen will kill you all even if you get through me," The masked man said.

The masked man shot several beams at the guys. Mashiro flipped away from a beam, Kensei rolled away from another, Lisa sidestepped from one and Renji blocked another with his blade.

"He was right; you would fall for the bait," The masked man said.

"You killed Rukia!" Renji yelled.

The masked man chuckled and shot a beam at Renji. Renji blocked the beam and shot his Zanpakutou at the man. The blade extended out and smashed into the man's chest, hurling him back.

Renji retracted the blade, jumped into the air and swung down at the man. His blade extended and slashed the man across his chest as he fell back.

Renji retracted his Zanpakutou, ripping bits off flesh off the man's corpse. He shook the pieces off his Zanpakutou and sheathed it on his back.

"Aikawa!" Mashiro cried as she ran up to him.

Aikawa groaned as he got to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Mashiro asked.

"Yeah, sorta," Aikawa said.

Mashiro looked at Aikawa's chest and saw that his shirt was burnt.

"Are you sure?" Mashiro asked.

"Yeah," Aikawa responded.

Aikawa tried to walk and then stumbled.

"No, I'm not," Aikawa said.

Kensei turned to Rojuro who struggled to his feet.

"You idiots should be more careful," Kensei said.

A man with a skull head ran up to Kensei from behind and he punched him without turning to him, sending him hurling back.

Renji looked around.

"Okay, quickly use your meds and let's get moving," Renji said.

"Got ya," Aikawa said.

Mashiro helped Aikawa sit down and she opened his backpack.

* * *

SKYE WORKED hastily on her phone and May and the SHIELD soldier waited. May leaned against a wall, tapping her foot impatiently.

Gunshots echoed.

"Well, there's more action," May said, "And I'm doing what again?"

"You're waiting to see if what's behind that wall's gonna attack us," Skye said.

May sighed. Skye's phone beeped.

"Aha, got it," Skye said.

Skye disconnected her phone from the keypad and the door began to slide open.

"Let's see what we got," Skye said.

Skye, May and the SHIELD soldier prepared their guns, training it at the door.

"Huh?" Skye said, raising her eyebrow.

A 10 foot tall, humanoid robot stood in a containment unit behind the door. It was grey, had several types of cannons on its arms and had a yellow chest. From what they could tell, it was not complete yet.

"What's this thing?" May asked rhetorically.

"Must be their project, whoever these guys are," Skye said.

May look closely at the robot when she heard footsteps. Lance walked up to them, holding a folder.

"Skye, you need to see this," Lance said.

Lance handed the file over to Skye.

"We found this in an office," Lance said, "There was nobody there when we found it,"

Skye opened the folder and sifted through it. The Amersian Seal was on the front page. She furrowed her brow as she looked at it.

"What is it?" May asked.

Skye pressed on her earpiece.

"Phil, we found something," Skye said.

* * *

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


	6. Maker of Blades

SKYE AND Phil walked down the halls of SHIELD HQ.

"It's too unfortunate that we could not get any other intel," Phil said, "I just wonder what they were using it for,"

"What worries me most is the file, did you get a good look at it?" Skye asked.

"Let's talk," Phil said.

Phil opened a door to his left and he and Skye entered a debriefing room where May, Lance, Bobbi and Leo were waiting for them.

"I'm sure you've all been updated on the results of Skye's mission," Phil said, "I just went through the dossier and it as evident as the seal on the document; the American government authorised this,"

"Isn't it Amerisan?" Leo asked.

"Oh, right, sorry; Amerisian," Phil said.

"What exactly did they authorize?" May asked.

"Secret experiments on an energy source found on the East Coast of Africa –,"

"Afrisia," Leo corrected.

" _Afrisia_ ," Phil said with a sigh, "This merging worlds crap is confusing,"

"Tell me about it," Skye said.

"What's the energy source?" Bobbi asked.

"The document calls it the Star Ball, and it was found by a group called the Tendril," Phil said, "Do we have it in our archives?"

"No," Skye said.

"We'll just have to assume they're the hostiles you came across in the building," Phil said.

"Did you find anything else other than the armour?" Bobbi asked.

"Just that and this file," Phil said.

"We need to get on the field," Skye said, "What's the address on the dossier?"

"It was commissioned by SecDef, but we shouldn't do anything first," Phil said.

"Why?" Skye asked.

"This is a little fishy to me," Phil said, "AIM's computers led us to this information too easily,"

"What do you mean?" Skye asked.

"Just think about it; MODOK was set to delete everything in the archives. If so, why leave the one location that would allow us to find a intel as sensitive as this?" Phil asked.

"Maybe they were just sloppy," Skye said.

"No, this doesn't make sense," Phil said.

"What do you want us to do then?" May asked.

"Have Mac's team look at the armour we picked up and wait for further orders," Phil said.

"And what about you?" Skye asked.

"I'm gonna do some digging around and investigate SecDef before we continue on," Phil said.

Phil left the room.

* * *

ICHIGO, NEL, Hiyori, Dondochakka, Pesche and Shinji walked down a smaller hallway in a Las Noches building.

"It's kinda odd that it's this calm around here," Shinji said.

"Get in line, wanted more action," Hiyori said.

"Careful what you wish for or you might get a super tough Arrancar that'd kill us all," Ichigo said.

"Better than hanging around Cockroach and Polka-Dots over here," Hiyori said, pointing at Pesche and Dondochakka behind her.

"I'm not a crockroach!" Pesche yelled.

"You sure look like one," Hiyori said.

"And these aren't Polka-Dots!" Dondochakka yelled, "They're my beauty marks,"

"Yeah, whatever," Hiyori said.

"I wonder what you guys are though, you're too odd to be Arrancar and you're not scary, so you're not Hollows," Ichigo said.

"Hey, I am scary," Pesche said.

"Yeah, right," Ichigo said.

"No, I am scary, watch," Pesche said.

He cleared his throat.

"Boo!" Pesche said.

Dondochakka whimpered.

"See?" Pesche said.

"He probably heard his own footsteps again," Hiyori said.

"Hey!" Dondochakka yelled.

"You're just faking it," Pesche said, "You're shaking in your boots,"

"If that's the scariest you can be, then Chucky ain't got nothing on the Care Bears," Ichigo said.

Hiyori chuckled.

"That's not fair," Pesche said, pouting, "I wasn't ready yet,"

Shinji groaned as Dondochakka start complaining.

"Will you all shut up!" Shinji yelled.

Ichigo turned to Nel who seemed lost in her thoughts.

"You've been awful quiet, what's up?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know, I … I feel odd here," Nel said.

Ichigo looked at her and smiled slightly.

"Don't be scared, I won't let anything happen to you," Ichigo said.

Nel gave a wistful smile at Ichigo and he looked forward.

"If you think for one second that that's not scary, then –," Pesche tried to say.

Shinji put his finger before his mouth.

"What is it?" Dondochakka asked loudly.

"Shut up," Hiyori said in a hushed tone.

"Hey, I –,"

Hiyori drew her Zanpakutou and pressed it against his neck.

"If you don't shut up, I'll slice you're throat!" Hiyori said in a hushed tone.

Dondochakka gulped and remained silent.

"Don't –," Nel tried to say.

Ichigo placed his hand on Nel's shoulder and she kept quiet.

Shinji walked up to a door nearby and crouched beside it. The guys walked up to the door and crouched. All, except for Dondochakka who fell back with a loud thump.

"Keep quiet," Hiyori growled in a hushed tone.

Shinji leaned toward the door when he heard footsteps approaching the door.

"Someone's coming," Shinji said.

Shinji and Ichigo drew their Zanpakutou.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Pesche panicked.

"I know," Dondochakka said.

Dondochakka ran away, flailing his arms around while yelling.

"Wait for me!" Pesche yelled.

Pesche followed him.

"Will you morons get back here!" Hiyori yelled.

"Go get 'em," Shinji groaned.

Hiyori drew her Zanpakutou.

"What's that?" Pesche's voice echoed.

Dondochakka screamed.

"Dondochakka!" Nel cried.

Ichigo held Nel's hand.

"Hold on, we don't wanna lose ya," Ichigo said.

Nel looked at Ichigo with soulful eyes.

"Idiots," Hiyori growled.

Hiyori ran after Dondochakka and Pesche and soon after they disappeared out of sight, clanging sounds of clashing blades echoed.

The door swung open and Ichigo and Shinji rose to their feet, training their blades forward.

A man with long brown hair and sunglasses stood before them, clad in a dust coat. Ichigo furrowed his brow as he looked at him.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"We should be saying that to you," Ichigo said.

The man looked at Ichigo's Zanpakutou and his eyes lit up.

"That's my Zanpakutou," The man said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm Zangetsu," The man said.

Ichigo's eyes widened with shock.

* * *

KUUKAKU STOOD before a crowd of people and between two men clad in military uniform with an inverted Gotei Thirteen badge on their right arm. The Shiba warriors. She herself wore a black cloak with the badge acting as a button for the cloak on her chest over a red vest and white skirt that had a large slit along her left leg.

"People of Rukongai, your time of freedom has arrived," Kuukaku said, "From the time you awoke here, the Shinigami told you that this was the Afterlife and you had no choice but to accept it. But is this what the Afterlife is supposed to be?"

The people murmured amongst themselves.

"The Afterlife should be a realm of peace and equality, but what do we have?" Kuukaku asked, "Poverty, hunger, strife, while the Shinigami hide behind their walls and claim to be fighting for our survival while we die and wither away. My clan has been working hard to ensure that you were safe from the very Shinigami who had also been raiding you and forcing you to pay taxes for their services you never see bear fruit and now they want to take us out,"

The people continued murmuring and became annoyed.

Shiba warriors walked through the crowd, handing out sheathed katana blades to whoever would receive them.

"With the blade in your hands, you will show them that they cannot trample upon you anymore! With the blade in your hands, you can defend yourselves against their tyranny!" Kuukaku said, "With the blade in your hands, you can rule the Sereitei!"

The people cheered excitedly.

"Alright, what is this?" A voice called.

The crowd went silent. Kuukaku turned to see three men clad in blue Shinigami attire with black hoods attached to their tops and katana sheathed to their belts. The Military Force.

"You're not authorized to have this gathering," The Officer said.

"Get back to your houses," The Officer said.

A teen slashed one of the Military Officers across his chest.

"Tatsuya!" The Officer yelled as the cut down Officer fell over, "You little –,"

A Shiba warrior cut down the Officer before he could reach for his Zanpakutou. The remaining Officer backtracked and pressed into his earpiece.

"We've got two men down, South Westside of the Sereitei," The Officer said, "We're gonna need to –,"

Kuukaku threw a Zanpakutou into the Officer's head. She looked around and more Military Force Officers amassed.

"Are you with me?" Kuukaku asked.

The crowd cheered, lifting up their Zanpakutou.

"Then let's take 'em down," Kuukaku yelled.

Kuukaku, the two Shiba warriors and the crowd dispersed as they collided with oncoming Military Force Officers.

* * *

RENJI, MASHIRO, Aikawa, Kensei, Lisa and Rojuro walked into a large laboratory that had several unconscious Hollows in large capsules with scientists roaming around. Renji gestured for the Vizards to split up and they hid behind different capsules. They moved around and knocked out some scientists that spotted them, hiding them behind capsules.

Renji walked behind a capsule and looked around. he saw the Vizards nearby and he gestured for them to wait. He looked forward and saw the pink-haired scientist talking to another man.

The man had spiky blue hair, wore a white jacket with a black trim, was bare-chested, had a large hole in his stomach and wore white Shinigami trousers with black and white boots. What raised Renji's curiosity the most about him was that the man had a skull jaw attacked to his skin, aligning to his right jaw.

"So, where are we on the attacks, Szayelaporro?" The man asked.

"We're just about finished putting the transmitters in their craniums," Szayelaporro said, "With them in place, the Hollows will follow our commands without any interference,"

"Well, you'd better do it quickly, we don't want Aizen to use 'em all on his experiments," The man said.

"I've got it all worked out so that our Hollows won't get mixed up with Aizen's," Szayelaporro said, "Trust me, Grimmjow,"

"Well, I'd better get going," Grimmjow said, "Don't want Aizen to get suspicious,"

"Indeed," Szayelaporro said.

Szayelaporro grinned at Grimmjow who glared at him and walked away. He left the room and Szayelaporro walked around the lab.

Renji and the Vizards moved onward swiftly.

"I know you're there," Szayelaporro said.

"Huh?" Kensei said in surprise.

* * *

RENJI, MASHIRO, Aikawa, Rojuro, Lisa, Kensei and Szayelaporro appeared in a different room, all in the same positions they were in when they were in the lab. Renji and the Vizards appeared with the capsules they leaned against.

The guys looked around and saw that they were in a large room filled with different Hollows prowling around. Szayelaporro smirked and pocketed a device.

"Welcome to my breeding pen," Szayelaporro said with a slight bow.

"What the hell is this?" Renji asked.

"Well, hell; for you anyways," Szayelaporro said.

"Whoa," Mashiro said as a Hollow walked passed her.

"What is going on here," Kensei said.

"Don't worry, these darlings won't attack you unless I tell them to," Szayelaporro said, "You've been snooping around, how rude of you,"

"Are you working for Aizen?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, no I'm not," Szayelaporro said, "But his enemies are still my enemies,"

"How does that make any sense?" Kensei asked.

"The question you should ask is how you're going to survive," Szayelaporro said.

He pulled out a remote from his pocket and held it up.

"With a push of a button, I can make these creatures rip you limb from limb, but I don't want that," Szayelaporro said.

"Why?" Renji asked.

"Well, if they do, I won't have any specimen left to work on," Szayelaporro said.

"Oh, don't worry, you're not gonna have any specimen left to work with," Lisa said, "Or any limbs to work with either,"

The guys drew their Zanpakutou and Szayelaporro laughed.

"Oh, don't humour me," Szayelaporro said, "You know, moving these Hollows around is quite difficult. Good thing we have technology on our side,"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kensei asked impatiently.

"Lunch," Szayelaporro said.

Szayelaporro pressed a button on the device, releasing the Hollows from the capsules. They fell on the ground and quickly awoke and the others growled at the guys.

"Sic 'em," Szayelaporro said.

The Hollows lunged at the guys and a fight quickly ensued. Renji ran toward Szayelaporro and jumped into the air. He swung his Zanpakutou at him and he dodged it, letting the extended blade hit the ground.

* * *

ICHIGO, SHINJI, Nel, Hiyori, Dondochakka and Pesche stood in Zangetsu's lab. It had several swords hanging in display cases and a large round machine in the middle. The room had several computers around it and apparatus for mixing chemicals on tables across its walls.

"Wait a minute, how are you Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, that was my nickname since I made Zanpakutou when I worked in the Sereitei," Zangetsu said, "My real name is Otaku Tetsuo,"

"If you worked for the Sereitei, what are you doing here?" Shinji asked.

"You see, a hundred years ago, before Aizen created the Vasto Lorde, I worked with him and Urahara in Division 8, making Zanpakutou,"

"And now you're doing it for Aizen," Shinji said.

"It's not like I had a choice," Zangetsu said.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"When Aizen created the Hogyoku, he tested its power on different Shinigami, using DNA from Hollows to try and create Arrancar," Zangetsu said.

"And how we ended up being like this," Shinji said.

"Aizen was a fool back then; mixing Shinigami and Hollow DNA would only make Vizards; second rate Arrancar," Zangetsu said.

"What you say?" Hiyori barked.

"Like it or not, you're weaker than Arrancar are … or at least you should be," Zangetsu said, "You see, Aizen's been making Arrancar using the reiatsu of Hollows and mixing it with Shinigami reiatsu, but to make powerful Arrancar, you need Vasto Lorde,"

"I thought they were extinct," Shinji said.

"They should have been, but it was only a year ago that Aizen found one," Zangetsu said, "Right now there are …,"

Zangetsu glanced at Nel.

"… five Vasto Lorde whom he got reiatsu from to create Arrancar who are now part of the Espadas," Zangetsu said.

"So, this mission is pointless, isn't it?" Ichigo asked, "We're all gonna end up dead,"

"Not with you on the battlefield," Zangetsu said.

"What're talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"I made Zangetsu, which I named after myself, particularly for you because you are not human," Zangetsu said, "When Aizen discovered that I knew what he was doing with the Hogyoku, I sent it to earth, hoping it would end up in the hands of someone who would stop him. Thank God it ended up in the hands of the one it was intended for,"

"I'm not human?" Ichigo asked.

"Even before you became a Shinigami by obtaining Zangetsu," Zangetsu said.

"Then what am I?" Ichigo asked.

"You're –,"

A man burst through a wall and rolled to his feet. He went into a Kung Fu stance and made a cliché martial arts fighter sound. He wore a white Shinigami trouser, had blue hair, a heavily-tattooed torso and had a blade sheathed to his belt.

"What the hell," Ichigo said, reaching for his Zanpakutou.

"Is it just me or does that guy look like Bruce Lee?" Hiyori asked.

"Whado-ah!" The man yelled.

The man tackled Ichigo through a wall and flew away with him.

"Ichigo!" Nel cried.

"Hiyori, stay with them," Shinji ordered.

"Hey, why do I have to –," Hiyori tried to say.

Shinji drew his Zanapkutou and flew through the hole in the wall, chasing after the assailant.

* * *

THE BLUE-haired man flew through the wall of a hallway and threw Ichigo onto the opposite wall. The man landed on the ground and went into several martial arts stances.

Ichigo struggled to his feet.

"Oh, so that's how you're gonna play, huh?" Ichigo asked.

Ichigo reached for his Zanpakutou and the man flew towards him. The man kicked him in the groin.

Ichigo screamed and the man punched his jaw shut and backhanded him, sending him bouncing on the ground. He skidded to a stop.

"Come on," The man said.

Ichigo struggled to his feet and the man kicked him in the gut, sending him falling some feet back.

Shinji ran up to the man with a swing and he received a swift backhand to the face. The man kicked Shinji's leg and dropkicked him, sending him smacking against a wall.

Ichigo struggled to all fours and the man flew up to him and kicked him, hurling him through a wall.

"Whaa!" The man yelled.

Ichigo spat out blood.

* * *

PHIL SAT on a chair across from Rangiku, who laid unconscious in a gurney. He stroked his chin.

"She is hot though," A voice came.

Phil turned to see Skye standing beside him.

"She's got a nice rack," Skye said.

"Well, yeah I mean – wait, I'm not checking her out," Phil said.

"Come on, Phil, think about it," Skye said, "You, an unregistered gifted, blasting a bunch of bottles with the destroyer,"

"That's not all I do in my free time," Phil said.

"So you admit you do it in your free time," Skye said.

Phil groaned and Skye laughed.

"What're you doing here?" Phil asked.

"Just checking up on our prize here," Skye said.

She looked at her then took a seat beside Phil.

"She's a heavy sleeper," Skye said.

"Doc said she'd be coming to at any moment," Phil said, "Wanted to be present so that I could ask some questions,"

"Like which tie you look great in?" Skye asked.

"Will you cut it with that? I've got more important things to worry about," Phil said.

"Like never getting laid?" Skye asked smugly.

Phil sighed.

Rangiku stirred.

"Ooh, ooh, she's up, lemme get my camera so I can take a photo," Skye teased, "Mamma's gonna be so proud you finally asked a girl out. All it took was sixty years,"

Phil shook his head as he got up. Skye laughed.

Rangiku looked around the room and tried to sit up.

"Ugh, where am I?" Rangiku asked.

"That's classified," Phil said.

Rangiku sat up and held her head.

"We need to talk," Phil said.

Rangiku groaned.

Urahara appeared in the room, grabbed Rangiku and teleported with her. The IVs fell on the ground and Phil and Skye's mouths fell agape.

"What just happened?" Phil asked.

"Did someone just teleport in and out of here without setting off any alarms?" Skye asked.

Phil looked around the room and frowned.

* * *

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


	7. Our Wars

WIND WEAVED through the black of Kuukaku's cloak as she stood among six of her warriors, the gigantic walls of the Sereitei before them. Two Warriors arrived, lugging a large cannon. They placed it down and one of them walked up behind it. He held two handlebars and directed the cannon at the gate.

The Warrior shot a beam at the gate, creating a large hole in it. The man fired repeatedly in a downward, vertical line until the gate crumbled into many large pieces.

Kuukaku held her prosthetic arm out. It glowed and a small hole opened in her palm. She shot a fireball at the remains of the gate and incinerated them, creating a pathway through them.

The Shiba Warriors ran in through the wall and others joined them. The people of Rukongai ran into the Sereitei and Kuukaku sauntered in calmly.

She walked through the crowd as they collided with Shinigami in the Sereitei grounds. She shot three Shinigami to the left, another one to the right and dodged one that slashed at her. She drew out her Zanpakutou sheathed across her lower back and cut off the assailant's arm.

Kuukaku weaved through the crowd and ran towards a large pathway. Several Shinigami ran toward her and she went on one knee. She held her prosthetic arm like a cannon and sent large fireball that washed over them. She ran passed their burning corpses and continued on.

Kuukaku ran up a large staircase onto an upper level in the Sereitei. She looked around and saw three large gates going in separate directions.

"Who are you?" a Shinigami approached her.

Kuukaku ignored them and turned to see a gate with the symbol of the fifth Division. She ran toward it.

"Hey, you're not allowed up here." the Shinigami drew her Zanpakutou.

Kuukaku shot a fireball at the Shinigami and ran through the gate.

* * *

ICHIGO FELL out of a building and crashed onto the white sands of Las Noches. The blue-haired Arrancar dived through the hole in the wall and flipped toward Ichigo.

Ichigo teleported out of the way and Shinji swung at the man. The man flipped, kicked Shinji's Zanpakutou away and punched him as he was in midair, hurling him back.

Ichigo reached for his Zanpakutou and the blue-haired man punched him. He kicked him in the knee, elbowed his ribs, backhanded him and punched him in the gut, hurling him back.

Ichigo flipped over and landed on his feet, skidding to a stop.

"I've had enough of this crap." Ichigo reached for his Zanpakutou.

Ichigo drew his Zanpakutou and sent a Getsuga Tenshou at the man. The man flipped away from the blast, did two cartwheels and flew toward him with a punch. He blocked the punch with his Zanpakutou and swung at him sideways.

Ichigo swung at the man twice and he blocked the hits with his forearms. He punched him in the gut, gave him an uppercut and kicked his leg. Ichigo slashed at the man, who blocked it swiftly with his forearm. He sent out a Getsuga Tenshou, sending him hurling back.

The blue-haired man bounced twice on the ground and flipped to his feet. Shinji swung at the man and received a swift backhand to the face.

"Whaa!" the man took a kung fu stance.

"Get lost!" Ichigo lifted his Zanpakutou.

Ichigo sent out a large Getsuga Tenshou and the man jumped out of the way. Shinji appeared behind him and stabbed him through his chest. He dislodged his Zanpakutou.

The man trudged, fell over and died.

A man with a skull for a head ran out of the hole in the building and Ichigo threw his Zanpakutou through his head.

Ichigo growled and walked toward the man. He dislodged his Zanpakutou and sheathed it.

* * *

KUUKAKU WALKED into an office that had a large glass wall on one end, leading to a lush garden.

"Huh, didn't figure Kuchikis were slackers." She looked around the room.

She walked up to the desk and looked at the computer screen. She took a seat and went through its files. She keyboarded and opened up a file labelled 'Clan Hierarchy'.

She read through it and frowned.

* * *

ICHIGO AND Shinji ran down the halls of a Las Noches building when they heard clanging sounds.

"What's going on?" Shinji looked around.

"Nel." Ichigo's eyes dilated.

The two drew their Zanpakutou and ran down the hall. Hiyori flung through the air and slammed against a wall before them. She fell limp on the ground and dropped her Zanpakutou.

Nel backtracked fearfully and Dondochakka and Pesche ran behind her. Ichigo ran up to her and Shinji ran up to Hiyori.

"Nel, are you alright?" Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Oho, look who's made a friend."

Ichigo turned to see a man who spoke walking to them.

He was very tall, slim and wore a ¼ white trench coat over a white Shinigami trousers and black boots. He wielded a large scythe with a two blades on both ends in the shape of inverted crescents pointing upward. He sported a large devilish grin and wore a patch over his left eye.

Ichigo charged at the man and slashed at him. He smacked him away with his scythe, causing him to smack against a wall.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man shook his head, "Don't interrupt me."

The man turned to Nel who shivered at his gaze.

"Nel, come on, tell me exactly how you survived."

Ichigo jumped and swung at the man. He blocked it with his scythe, grabbed his leg and tossed him aside.

"You were supposed to be dead." He ignored Ichigo and turned to Nel.

The man walked toward Nel and shoved his scythe at her. Shinji jumped in his way and blocked it with his sword.

"You'd better step back," Shinji lowered his eyelids calmly.

Shinji pushed the scythe away and slashed at the man. He caught his blade and looked at it.

"Hmm, not sharp enough." The man smirked.

The man pushed the blade away and kicked Shinji, knocking him off his feet. Ichigo screamed as he ran toward him.

"Buzz off." The man smacked Ichigo away.

The man walked toward Nel. She whimpered and stepped back, bumping against a wall.

"You don't wanna talk? Fine then, die!" The man lifted his scythe.

The man shoved it at Nel. Ichigo lunged at him and they exchanged sword slashes.

She watched the fight as the man easily threw Shinji and Ichigo around like rag dolls. She held her head in agony as images flashed through her mind. She began to sweat she looked at the ground then she frowned.

She looked up at the man as he threw Shinji and Ichigo aside.

"I … I remember you," Nel strained, "N-n … Nnoitorra."

Nnoitorra's eyes twitched with rage and he growled.

Nnoitorra swung wildly at Nel. She dodged the scythe swiftly and flipped back, letting him lodge it into the ground. She summoned a Zanpakutou in midair and slashed his hand, leaving a small gash on it. She landed a few feet back and he recoiled.

Her outfit changed the moment she drew the Zanpakutou. She was clad in a white uniform with a top that had buttons running from her right breast down to her thigh with a belt across her waist over white trousers and shoes. She had white gloves and a purple sheath on her right side, attached to a purple belt.

"Why you …" Nnoitorra's anger grew.

Nnoitorra pointed his scythe at Nel and a shot a yellow beam out of the blade. She opened her mouth and sucked the beam into it. She closed her mouth and spat a purple beam back at him. He dodged the beam and it hit a wall, causing it to crumble.

Ichigo and Shinji rose to their feet and looked around. Ichigo looked at Nel in surprise.

"Nel?"

* * *

RENJI SPUN around, extending his Zanpakutou out and slashing several Hollows around him. He retracted the blade and stabbed it into the ground. The blade shot out of the ground and stabbed a Hollow. The blade smacked against the ceiling, stabbed back into the ground and out of it, stabbing another Hollow. He retracted the blade.

Lisa cut down a Hollow, dodged a bite and stabbed the assailant. She flipped over a Hollow that clawed at her and slashed its head off, mid-flip. She slid under a Hollow and cut its head off. A Hollow bit at her and she slashed it across its mouth, dismembering its jaw from its head.

Kensei punched a Hollow, grabbed its head and smacked another Hollow with its body. He kicked a Hollow's paw aside, drew a dagger shaped Zanpakutou from a sheath on his boot, mid-kick and stabbed the Hollow. He sheathed the Zanpakutou, dodged as a Hollow twice his height clawed at him, rolled to its left and punched it in the gut with so much force that it fell over.

"Mashiro Leg Sweep!" Mashiro leg swept a Hollow, "Mashiro Flip!" she flipped it over "Mashiro Dropkick!" she dropkicked the Hollow, "Mashiro Helicopter Spin Kick!" she did a handstand, did a split and launched into the air, kicking Hollows that lunged at her from all directions as she ascended into the air.

Rojuro threw a tethered dagger into a Hollow's neck, threw the dagger at the other end into another one's chest and pulled on the rope, causing them to smack into each other. He drew out a tethered dagger, stabbed it into a Hollow that jumped toward him, rolled out of the way as it fell, threw the dagger on the other end into a Hollow that ran toward him and kicked it in the head. The two Hollows fell over, entangling other Hollows in the tethered daggers.

Aikawa slashed at a Hollow's leg, punched it, dislodged the blade and cut down another Hollow that clawed at him. A Hollow bit at him and he grabbed its arms and tossed it onto another Hollow. He rolled over, stabbed a Hollow's foot, lifted it and stabbed into another Hollow's neck like a skewer. He tossed the two skewered Hollows, sending them crashing onto oncoming Hollows whilst dislodging the blade.

Renji cut down a Hollow, flipped laterally and threw his Zanpakutou into Szayelaporro's head. He landed and panted heavily. He looked around and saw all the Hollows' corpses in piles. His friends were exhausted and bruised.

"Come on guys," Renji walked on, "We've gotta long way to go if we wanna kill Aizen."

He walked up to Szayelaporro's corpse and dislodged his Zanpakutou.

"Could we stop for a breather?" Mashiro slouched.

"Nah, let's move." Kensei frowned at her.

Kensei walked passed Mashiro.

"But I'm tired!"

"Yeah? Well, tell that to everyone else." Kensei continued on.

Mashiro folded her arms, sulking.

"Jerk." she pouted.

The guys walked towards a door nearby.

* * *

KUUKAKU READ files on the computer when the office's door swung open. Byakuya Kuchiki entered the room.

"Kuukaku." He frowned.

The two stared each other down. Byakuya reached for his Zanpakutou and Kuukaku flipped back, smashing through the large window behind her desk and throwing a grenade into the room.

The grenade exploded, sending bits of glass flying out. Kuukaku landed in the garden and rose to her feet. She looked at the burning office and squinted.

White, petal-shaped energy particles shot out of the office and toward her. She shot a fireball at some of them and others went for her back. She clenched her prosthetic fist and a wristband glowed. A large force-field shield formed out of the band and blocked the petals.

Petals shot at her from her left and she blocked them with the force-field shield. The petals retreated and Byakuya flew at her with a stab of a Zanpakutou forming from the collecting petals. He collided with her shield and he pushed her back, flinging her onto a tree. He landed before her and swung his Zanpakutou downward, disintegrating it into energy petals that shot out at her in a wave. She rolled out of the way and they washed over the tree, heavily lacerating it.

The tree fell in between them and Kuukaku rose to her feet. A wave of petals washed over the tree, annihilating it into mere splinters and flew toward her. She ran away and rocket boosters in her boots launched her into the air. She shot a fire ball at a wave of petals and blocked another with her force-field shield.

Kuukaku flew back, blocking and firing at the waves of petals that chased after her. Byakuya flew around her and punched her, hurling her back. He directed a wave at her and she blocked it with the shield. He sent another wave around at her and she shot a fireball at it.

Byakuya formed his Zanpakutou and slashed at her. Kuukaku blocked it with her force-field shield, but he hit her with so much force that he flung her at the ground. She crashed onto a corridor in a street. She struggled to her feet and he landed nearby.

Shinigami amassed.

"Go deal with the riot." Byakuya moved toward Kuukaku.

A Shinigami nodded.

* * *

SHINIGAMI AND Military Officers fought the Rukongai rebels and Shiba Warriors. Shinigami easily cut down the rebels and the Warriors fought back.

A Shiba Warrior cut down a Military Officer when a Zanpakutou drove through his skull.

Kenpachi Zaraki walked amongst the Rukongai rebels and cut them down nonchalantly. Yachiru sat on his shoulder, humming calmly as he walked on.

"This is boring." Kenpachi groaned.

"I wonder what riled them up." Yachiru looked around.

"I dunno, probably tired of living."

"It's sad, now they're all just gonna die."

"And I won't get any real challenge." Kenpachi groaned again.

"Ah, well." Yachiru shrugged.

Shunsui watched the battle from a nearby building. Nanao stood beside him at the window.

"You're not going down there?" Nanao pushed her glasses back.

"Why should I?" Shunsui folded his arms.

"Because it's your duty to protect the Sereitei."

"I thought it was our duty to protect them."

She sighed and looked at the battle.

"Now they're so helpless that they think they can run things," Shunsui sighed, "All this violence is pointless."

"At least you should do something rather than hide out here." She furrowed her brow.

"What's the point? Yamamoto won't listen to me."

Shunsui walked away from the window and took a seat.

"Well, you should try something." She turned to him.

He groaned and lowered his straw hat over his head.

"I've tried before and people have still died. This will be no different,"

Nanao frowned.

"Well, if you don't do anything, more people will die too." She headed for the door.

Shunsui watched her leave.

* * *

KENPACHI CUT down a Shiba Warrior and continued walking, cutting down Rukongai rebels and Shiba Warriors like a gardener cutting grass.

A Shiba Warrior hid behind a pillar and turned to another one.

"Where's Kuukaku? We're getting slaughtered." He looked out at the battle.

"I don't know." The other Warrior looked around.

Shiba Warriors wielding guns shaped like rocket launchers arrived in the area and took their positions, kneeling on one knee. They shot blue energy beams at Shinigami that attacked the rebels.

Mechanised cannons popped out of nearby buildings and the Shiba Warriors shot them down. The Shiba Warriors shot down several Shinigami and one shot at Kenpachi. He ducked and the beam hit a nearby building.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Kenpachi grinned.

He dodged another beam and ran toward a Shiba Warrior. The Warrior shot a beam at him and he cut him down. A Warrior shot a beam at Kenpachi, flinging him into a nearby building. Yachiru jumped off his shoulder before he crashed through the building.

"You shouldn't have done that." She turned to the Warriors.

Kenpachi kicked the debris off him and jumped out of the hole in the wall.

* * *

NNOITORRA SWUNG his scythe at Nel who jumped out of the way. Ichigo lunged at him and he grabbed him and threw him onto Shinji. Nel swung her Zanpakutou at him and he jumped back.

Nnoitorra kicked Nel, knocking her off her feet. He swung down at her and she blocked the scythe with her blade. He stabbed at her head with his hand and she dodged it, letting him pierce the ground. She gave him a double-footed kick and he stumbled back.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo's voice echoed.

Ichigo shot a Getsuga Tenshou at Nnoitorra who swung his scythe at it, causing it to explode. The smoke dissipated and he was unscathed.

"What the …" Ichigo's eyes enveloped in disbelief.

Shinji swung at Nnoitorra who grabbed his Zanpakutou and tossed him onto Ichigo, sending him hurling through a wall.

Nel ran up to him.

"Enough!" Nnoitorra grew impatient.

He swung his scythe down and she flipped away. He hit the ground, causing the floor to break in a trench formation. Nel landed on the rocks and hopped toward him, bouncing off different rocks. She jumped into the air and shot a pink beam out of her hand.

The beam hit Nnoitorra and he merely stumbled back. He smirked and shot a beam at her from his scythe. Nel jumped back and sucked the beam into her mouth. She opened her mouth to send it back and he jumped onto her and grabbed her mouth. He squeezed his hand and the beam exploded in her mouth.

Nel flung into the air and crashed on the floor.

"Nel!" Dondochakka cried.

Nnoitorra shot a beam at him absentmindedly, hitting the ceiling and causing debris to fall, separating him, Nel and Ichigo from Hiyori, Shinji, Pesche and Dondochakka.

Nnoitorra walked up to Ichigo and picked him up, strangling him.

"It's a pity, really," Nnoitorra smirked, "Nel just made a new friend and she ran into me. It'd have been better if she just died and didn't pull anyone into this mess."

Ichigo tried to break out of his grasp, but failed to. He could try using both hands, but it would mean dropping his Zanpakutou and that would turn him into a human. He would definitely have no chance as a human, so he tried futilely with one hand.

"What am I saying? I don't care about you."

Nnoitorra lifted his scythe, about to cut Ichigo.

"Put him down!" Nel's voice came.

Nnoitorra turned and saw Nel standing groggily. She had a large ghastly bruise across her mouth that was slowly healing.

"So you're back for more, huh? Okay, fine." Nnoitorra turned to her.

He tossed Ichigo away like a rag doll. Ichigo coughed badly as Nnoitorra walked over to Nel.

Nnoitorra chuckled.

"Goodbye, Nel." Nnoitorra brandished his scythe.

Nnoitorra held out his scythe and it glowed. A yellow sphere formed in the middle of the crescent blade and began to enlarge.

Nel panted as she looked around. Ichigo laid coughing on the ground and the others were stuck behind the rubble. She frowned.

"Die!" Nnoitorra smiled sadistically.

Nnoitorra shot a large beam out of the scythe that covered the area of the entire hallway. It spread out toward her and grazed against the wall. She opened her mouth wide and breathed in.

"Just give up." Nnoitorra held his scythe cockily.

The beam reached Nel and went into her mouth.

"Impossible." Nnoitorra eyes dilated.

Nel sucked the colossal beam into her mouth and closed it. She spat out a pink beam twice its size out of her mouth and at Nnoitorra that destroyed the wall in its path. The blast hit him and exploded, destroying part of the hallway.

The smoke settled and his scorched corpse fell over.

"Ichigo." Nel said.

Nel ran toward Ichigo and he raised his hand, stopping her in her tracks. He groaned as he got to his feet.

"Ichigo, you're hurt –,"

"What the hell was that?"

She took it aback.

"I thought you said you weren't an Arrancar." Ichigo stood up.

Nel remained silent.

"If you weren't, how were you able to beat that guy?"

He frowned at her and she sighed.

"It's true, I am an Arrancar." she sheathed her Zanpakutou.

"Then why'd you lie to me?" he sheathed his.

"I wasn't lying."

"Oh, so I made it all up?" his anger grew.

"No."

"Then what is going on here?"

Nel looked around and glanced at Nnoitorra's corpse.

"A month ago, I was made the first female Espada and I became the fourth strongest. My name is Neliel, Neliel Tu Odelschwank,"

"So you're an Arrancar, not just a Hollow but from a Vasto Lorde." His brow furrowed.

"I don't know, Ichigo …"

"You heard what Zangetsu said before that man attacked me."

She looked away from him.

"So, what now, huh? You blindside me with some attack and inform Aizen where I am? Or kill me right here while I'm too tired to fight?"

"… Ichigo, I don't want to fight you. I'm not your enemy,"

"Well, I'm a little lost on what to think right now."

Ichigo rubbed the nape of his neck and walked around.

"Ever since I woke up in the place, I've hated fighting. The meaningless war, death, but each time I tried to run away, the violence kept pulling me back," Nel frowned, "I had to fight to prove that I, Dondochakka and Pesche were worth keeping alive and instead, I became the fourth Espada. I tried living in line to avoid any more fighting, but I gained a new enemy in Nnoitorra. He despised me because I was put a level above him and he is the one who did this to me."

Nel pointed at the scar on her face. Ichigo looked at her and his expression warmed a little.

"Clearly I can't run away and a war is coming. There's no running away from it and like every war, you need to choose the side that's going to win." she looked into his eyes.

"And which side is that?"

"Yours."

Ichigo furrowed his brow.

"I don't know who you are and I don't know much about the Vizards or Shinigami, but I can see that you care about people; that's something I can't say about Aizen. He lusts for power and it will consume and destroy him and anyone who's on his side."

Ichigo sighed.

"And what if I lose? What if I'm not enough?" worry in his expression, "I came here to avenge my friends and I'm not gonna stop, but what if I lose in the end?"

Nel walked up to Ichigo and held his hand.

"Then I'd rather die fighting on the side that wants to end the violence than following orders for the side that wants to create more." She held his hand tightly, "Let's end our wars, Ichigo."

Ichigo smiled and held her hand.

* * *

KUUKAKU CRASHED onto the ground and Byakuya landed near her. She tried moving her cracked prosthetic arm and it stiffened. He walked up to her, his Zanpakutou reforming in his hands.

Kuukaku pulled out a device from her pocket and tossed it at Byakuya's chest. It electrocuted him and he fell over. She rose to her feet.

"Reiatsu disrupter," Kuukaku panted, "Causes your energy to double back to your brain and render you unconscious. Guess Urahara's just as smart out of bed after all."

Kuukaku drew her Zanpakutou and trudged toward Byakuya. She tiredly raised her hand to cut him when she heard footsteps nearby.

She turned to see Soifon and Punishment Force Shinigami standing around her.

"Stand down, Kuukaku," Soifon frowned, "It's over."

Kuukaku looked around, seeing the destruction from her fight with Byakuya. She looked at her feet and saw her boots shorting out. She sighed and dropped her Zanpakutou.

"Okay … I surrender." Kuukaku raised her hands.

Soifon gestured for the Punishment Force Shinigami to put her in handcuffs. The men walked Kuukaku passed her.

"6-68-A-88-90-B."

Soifon furrowed her eyebrow.

"What's that?" Soifon turned to Kuukaku.

"Division Archives."

"What about them?" Soifon's confusion growing.

"You and I have a lot to grieve about."

Soifon frowned.

"You're fighting on the wrong side, Soifon."

* * *

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Choices

ORIHIME WAS in a small, dark room. The only source of light came from a small window. Its light shone on an untouched plate of food that was a few feet from her. She sat on a chair, her head leaning against a wall, tears streaming down her cheek.

The door opened and she did not turn to see the entrant. He was of average height, had very pale skin, raven-hair, two thin, green lines running down his face like tears and was clad in a neatly buttoned, ¼, twin tailed coat over white Shinigami trousers and had a Zanpakutou in a green sheath, slung at his left side. He had one quarter of a horned skull on the left side of his head.

He looked down at her plate and turned to Orihime.

"You still haven't eaten?"

Orihime did not answer. He sighed and walked up to her.

"Do you want to die here?" He looked down at her.

She did not respond.

"Lord Aizen made it my duty to ensure that you survived and that has nothing to do with you being comfortable," he said, "Do you want me to force the food down your throat?"

Orihime swallowed, with dryness in her.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

The man furrowed his brow.

"Why are you keeping me in here? I'm no use to you," She said.

"It is not I who keeps you in here, I am simply fulfilling my duty as first Espada," He said, "I must do what I've been told."

"Kill me." Orihime said.

"You've only been here for a few days –,"

"Just kill me," Orihime said.

"And why should I do that?" The man asked.

"Clearly that's your plan," Orihime said, "Use me, and then kill me. So, get it over with."

The man looked down at Orihime and ignored her request.

"Do not let me find that you have not eaten," The man said.

The man began to leave.

"Ulquiorra," Orihime said.

Ulquiorra stopped.

"Help me," Orihime said.

He turned and walked back up to her.

"Clearly, you have gone mad," Ulquiorra said.

"You won't kill me and you're not planning to hurt me," Orihime said.

He looked at her blankly.

"Then help me," Orihime said.

"I cannot," Ulquiorra said.

"And why can't you?" Orihime asked.

"Because I have orders to follow," Ulquiorra said, "My own interests are unimportant."

"Your own interests?" Orihime asked.

Ulquiorra glanced at her plate. She sat up.

"Lord Aizen made it my duty to ensure that you survived and that has nothing to do with you being comfortable," Ulquiorra said, "But you must survive."

"What's the point of remaining alive if I'm going to die anyway?" Orihime asked.

Ulquiorra sighed and walked up to her.

"I have noticed that the guards are on the move, patrolling the halls more enthusiastically than usual. That means that there are intruders," Ulquiorra said.

Her eyes lit up at the statement.

"It most likely means that someone has come to save you or at least has come to kill Lord Aizen," He continued.

"Ichigo," Orihime muttered.

"It is a futile attempt whatever the reason," Ulquiorra said.

Orihime furrowed her brow and turned to him.

"Whether it's for you or anything else, coming to Las Noches will be their demise." Ulquiorra said.

"Don't say that." Orihime said.

"The inevitability is evident even in your voice." Ulquiorra said.

She looked away from him.

"Their road has ended and you know it." He said.

Orihime clenched her hands against her lap.

"The least you can to is survive," Ulquiorra said, "It'd be better than to die so ungracefully."

He headed for the door.

"You say your own interests don't key in," She said, "Maybe not in Aizen's plans, but they do in your life."

He turned to her.

"If you say it is in your own interests, then help me, Ulquiorra," Orihime said.

He frowned and looked away from her.

"Please," Orihime said.

Ulquiorra looked at Orihime and left the room.

* * *

ICHIGO LIFTED a large piece of rubble and tossed it aside. He breathed heavily as Shinji, Dondochakka, Pesche and Hiyori climbed over the debris.

"Nel!" Dondochakka said happily.

He and Pesche ran toward her then stopped in their tracks. They looked at her and their expressions dampened.

"You're sure about this?" Pesche asked.

"I don't have a choice," Nel said.

Dondochakka and Pesche looked at each other worriedly. That was, if their facial expressions were visible from underneath their masks.

Hiyori looked at Nnoitorra's corpse.

"That was some fight," Hiyori said, "Didn't think you'd survive. I'm impressed, Ichigo."

Ichigo stabilized his breathing and stood up.

"That's a lot coming from someone who got knocked out in seconds." Ichigo said.

"Hey, you weren't even here to see the fight!" Hiyori said.

"Would I be lying if I said so anyways?" Ichigo asked smugly.

Hiyori growled.

"Alright, let's get moving." Shinji said.

The guys ran onward, manoeuvring through the rubble and entered a hallway that was intact.

"Hold up, when did Nel get a Zanpakutou?" Hiyori asked.

Ichigo and Nel shared a glance.

"I knew it," Hiyori reached for her Zanpakutou.

Shinji blocked her.

"If Ichigo hasn't attacked her, then she's on our side," Shinji said, "You aren't born into a side."

Hiyori growled and sheathed her Zanpakutou. The guys continued down a hall when a wall exploded before them, causing them to halt abruptly.

Ichigo reached for a Zanpakutou when Renji stepped out of the wall.

"Ichigo, long time no see." Renji said.

"Wish it'd have been longer." Ichigo groaned.

"Hiyori, thought you'd be dead already." Kensei said.

Hiyori growled. Renji, Kensei, Mashiro, Aikawa, Rojuro and Lisa stepped out of the wall and into the hall.

"Well, since we're all here in once piece," Shinji tried to say.

"That will be far enough," A heavy voice came.

The guys turned to see a elderly and hefty man enter the hall. He had a thick white beard, a scarred face, a patch over his right eye, wore a white Shinigami kimono with black fuzz around the collar of his jacket, and had several rings on each hand.

The man drew out his Zanpakutou and a black mist exuded from the blade. It spread throughout the room and covered the walls, floor and ceiling. The guys ran away from the mist and into the hole in the wall Renji broke into.

Dondochakka struggled to climb in and Ichigo pulled him in, barely getting him out of the way of the mist.

The guys ran into the room where Renji's team fought Szayelaporro and looked for an exit.

"What was that stuff?" Hiyori asked.

"I don't know." Nel said.

"You know who that guy was?" Hiyori asked.

"His name is Barragan, but that's all I know about him," Nel said, "He is the third strongest Espada,"

"Wait; if you're the fourth, then he's the third?" Ichigo asked.

Nel nodded.

"What do you mean fourth?" Shinji asked.

"Espada are numbered by strength in descending order and I'm the fourth strongest," Nel said.

Shinji turned to Ichigo.

"She is pretty powerful," Ichigo said with a shrug.

Nel smiled slightly.

"Well, we'd better not wait to find out what that mist does." Shinji said.

"Uh, guys." Pesche said.

Pesche pointed at a Hollow's corpse that the mist slowly engulfed. The corpse began to rot rapidly as the mist covered it and slowly turned to ash.

"Oh, man." Hiyori said.

"That's gonna happen to us if we get touched," Dondochakka said, "That's bad, you know what I'm talking about?"

"We gotta get outta here!" Lisa said.

Ichigo looked around. The room had no exit.

"Well, no use in being polite." Ichigo said.

* * *

A WALL exploded and the guys jumped out of the wall and into another hallway. The mist slowly covered the room they came from.

"Come on!" Ichigo yelled.

The guys ran down the hall and the mist followed them. They ran into another hallway and Aikawa fell behind.

"Come on, we have to get outta here!" Ichigo yelled.

The mist covered his foot and he gave out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Aikawa!" Mashiro cried.

Aikawa's foot began to rot and it spread across his leg. Mashiro ran toward him and Shinji grabbed her arm.

"It's over, Mashiro." Shinji said.

"But, Aikawa's getting killed." Mashiro said.

"And so will you if we stay here." Shinji said.

Mashiro looked at Aikawa worriedly as he fell over.

"Run!" Aikawa yelled.

Tears welled up in Mashiro's eyes and Shinji pulled her. The guys ran on and the black mist slowly engulfed Aikawa.

His body rotted from his leg and spread around his body. It slowly turned to ash as the mist covered him. His screams quietened as the life left his breath.

The man stepped into the hall and the mist slowly spread apart as he walked. He walked passed Aikawa's corpse and the mist moved away from it. The corpse, now a pile of ash, disintegrated and spread across the floor.

* * *

ICHIGO AND the guys ran down a hall. Nel turned around and saw the mist approaching.

"It's still following us!" She cried.

"I got this." Ichigo said.

He grabbed his Zanpakutou and flipped over the guys, landing behind them.

"Go on without me." Ichigo said.

The guys ran on and Nel stopped, looking at him.

"Go!" Ichigo yelled.

Nel ran on and Ichigo drew out his Zanpakutou.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo sent out the black wave and it collided with the mist. The energy dissipated however and merged with the mist.

"Oh crap." Ichigo said.

Ichigo flew away and over the guys, landing in front of them.

"It didn't work!" Ichigo yelled as he ran.

"We're all gonna die!" Dondochakka cried.

"Well, goodbye swimsuit mags." Lisa said.

"Goodbye manga." Rojuro said.

"Goodbye not dying!" Renji said.

"Please, please, don't kill me!" Pesche prayed.

Ichigo looked around and saw a dead end.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Hiyori yelled.

"Oh, great." Renji said.

"Well, guess we are gonna die." Shinji said.

Dondochakka wailed.

"Of all the ways to die, did I have to die with you, Mashiro?" Kensei groaned.

Tears flowed down her cheeks and he looked away from her.

"Yeah, bad time for jokes, isn't it?" Kensei said.

"Aikawa's dead." Mashiro said.

Mashiro wiped her tears and Kensei looked at her concernedly.

"I'm sorry, Mashiro." Kensei said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Mashiro looked at him and gave a slight, wistful smile.

The guys reached the dead end and turned, seeing the mist approach them.

"What do we do now?" Pesche asked.

Ichigo looked around the room. Nel whimpered, pressing her back against the wall. Kensei saw Mashiro still crying and looked at the others. He looked around the hall and frowned.

"Oh, I'm not gonna die like this!" Kensei yelled.

He turned around and punched the wall, destroying it. He looked out and there was no more building left. He looked down and there was several feet between them and the ground.

Dondochakka clung to Renji and whimpered.

"Get off me!" Renji yelled.

Renji punched Dondochakka off him and he cried.

"What're we gonna do?" Lisa asked.

"We're gonna jump," Kensei said.

"Are you kidding me? It must be over two hundred feet!" Pesche yelled.

"It's either that or rotting to death," Kensei said.

Pesche turned and looked at the mist behind him.

"Okay guys, on three," Kensei said.

"Okay," Nel said.

"One."

Dondochakka whimpered.

"Alright, tell me when, I'm ready to go." Nel said.

"Two,"

"I was born ready, yes." Nel said, rubbing her hands together and jumping around.

"Calm down," Kensei said.

Kensei looked back and frowned.

"Three!" Nel yelled.

The guys jumped all except for Nel, Ichigo and Dondochakka. Dondochakka whimpered and looked at the mist. He closed his eyes tightly and slowly crawled toward the edge of the floor.

He clung to the wall and let his feet fall. He slowly pushed himself back and held to the edge of the floor. He looked down and closed his eyes again.

Nel kicked Dondochakka and he fell, screaming loudly. She stood back and looked at Ichigo who had his hands in his pocket and was chewing gum.

"So, what's the plan?" Nel asked.

"Nothing." Ichigo said blankly.

"So, we're just gonna die?" Nel asked.

"Yup." Ichigo said.

He blew a bubble of chewing gum and she folded her arms.

"Wonder how far a drop it is." she said.

He looked around then looked at the mist calmly.

"Maybe … two hundred, four hundred feet," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, I guess." Nel said, "Where'd you get the gum from?"

"Don't know, must be the writers." Ichigo said blankly.

The two looked out at the other buildings in Las Noches.

"You were totally scared." Ichigo said with a chuckle.

"I wasn't scared." Nel said.

"You were totally whimpering." Ichigo said.

"Dondochakka was." Nel said.

"Woman up." Ichigo said.

"Why are you telling me that?" Nel asked.

"'Cuz my plan is jumping." Ichigo said.

"Wait, what?" Nel asked.

Ichigo swept Nel off her feet and jumped.

"Are you insane!" Nel screamed.

Ichigo flew down and threw Nel into the air. She screamed loudly as she ascended above the building. Ichigo flew down and grabbed Dondochakka's foot and Shinji's arm. He tossed them upward.

Nel plummeted to the ground, screaming loudly. Ichigo swooped down and grabbed Hiyori's leg, shouldered Mashiro and grabbed Renji's arm. He threw them up into the air. He flew down, grabbed Rojuro's arm, Lisa's leg and shouldered Pesche, throwing them up into the air.

Nel screamed and shut her eyes.

* * *

NEL SLOWLY opened her eyes and looked around. She was in Ichigo's arms. She looked up at him and smiled.

Ichigo landed on the roof of the building and the others were groaning as they rose to their feet. He landed and set her down.

"Could you warn us next time?" Hiyori asked.

"I think I'm gonna throw up." Pesche covered his mouth.

"Well, don't do it on me!" Lisa yelled.

She threw him off her and rose to her feet. Mashiro shook her head and stood up.

"Where's Kensei?" Mashiro asked.

Kensei jumped high up into the air and landed on the roof.

"Hey, what happened to the plan?" Kensei asked.

"It got better." Ichigo said.

Nel smiled at Ichigo and looked away from him. The guys got to their feet and dusted themselves off.

"So, where do we go from here?" Shinji asked.

"I dunno, it'd be easier if we could sense Orihime's reiatsu." Ichigo said.

"I can sense Aizen's." Shinji said.

Shinji looked at the other Vizards and they shared looks.

"We're not going after him yet." Ichigo said.

"That's what we came here for." Lisa said.

"Yeah and now we've lost someone already." Ichigo said.

"Well, I'd rather die trying to take revenge." Kensei said.

Ichigo looked around and could tell that the other Vizards agreed with Kensei. He walked up to them.

"Look, I came here to rescue Orihime and I'm not doing anything else before that." Ichigo said.

"Well, then we have very different reasons for being here." Shinji said.

"No, we have the same reasons." Ichigo said.

Shinji turned to him.

"An Arrancar killed Rukia and a Hollow killed my mother. I am here to save Orihime and avenge Rukia because she died saving her." Ichigo said, "I am not leaving her and until I save her and when I save her, I will kill each and every Arrancar here."

Nel's eyes widened.

"Except for you," Ichigo said.

She smiled.

"So, are you with me?" Ichigo turned to the Vizards.

The Vizards shared looks.

"We all know these guys don't even come close to being as strong as Aizen and they've already beaten us down," Ichigo said, "The only way we can take him down is if we work together."

Mashiro looked at Kensei then looked at their leader, Shinji.

"Aright, let's do it," Shinji said with a sigh, "Let's go save Orihime."

Ichigo smirked and walked up to the edge of the roof.

"Now, you guys ready to ride Kurosaki Airways?" Ichigo asked.

"Fine." Hiyori groaned.

The guys walked up to Ichigo when the black mist shot out of the ground and enveloped Rojuro.

"Rojuro!" Shinji yelled.

Rojuro screamed as his body rotted.

"Come on!" Kensei yelled.

Kensei grabbed Mashiro and Lisa and jumped toward another building. Ichigo grabbed Nel, Dondochakka and Pesche and flew toward another roof. The guys remained and looked at the mist.

"Oh man, it's getting close." Lisa said.

"Yeah." Shinji said lazily.

He levitated into the air and hovered lazily toward the building Ichigo was heading to, his hands in his pocket. Hiyori and Lisa looked at him with shock.

"You do know we can fly, right?" Shinji asked.

"Oh, right." Lisa said.

Hiyori slapped her forehead. She, Lisa, Renji and Shinji flew toward the other building.

The guys landed on the other building and looked at the building they came from.

"I think we're safe here." Ichigo said.

"We're not safe anywhere in Hueco Mundo." Nel said.

"Well," Ichigo said unsheathing his Zanpakutou, "We're safe from the mist."

Ichigo threw his Zanpakutou into the head of a skull man.

"Let's get moving," Ichigo said.

The guys walked onward and Ichigo dislodged his Zanpakutou from the skull man.

* * *

THE GUYS ran down a hallway and came to a three-way intersection. They looked around.

"Okay, we should split up here and cover more ground," Shinji said, "If anyone finds Orihime, radio it in."

"Got it." Ichigo said.

Ichigo and Nel ran down the hallway to the right, Shinji, Lisa and Mashiro ran down the hallway to the left, and Kensei, Hiyori and Renji ran down the hallway straight ahead.

Dondochakka and Pesche ran up to the intersection, panting heavily.

"Hey, where'd the other guys go?" Pesche asked.

The two looked around.

"They ditched us, you know what I'm talking about?" Dondochakka said.

"Well, let's keep moving." Pesche said.

Dondochakka and Pesche ran down the hallway straight ahead.

* * *

ULQUIORRA WALKED into Orihime's room and saw her still seated before an untouched plate.

"You are merely adding to your suffering by doing this." Ulquiorra said, "Why won't you eat?"

Orihime did not respond. He sighed and walked up to her.

"Well, the time has come," Ulquiorra said, "Aizen has ordered me to take you to him."

She did not respond and he closed his eyes.

"Come with me." Ulquiorra said.

Ulquiorra offered his hand to Orihime stood on her own. She headed for the door and he followed her.

* * *

ULQUIORRA WALKED down a large hallway, lined up by pillars on either side. Orihime followed him, looking around solemnly.

"You will be unharmed if you cooperate, I promise you that," Ulquiorra said, "It will be over soon."

The room began to shake, halting them.

"What's happening?" Orihime asked.

The floor exploded and Ichigo flew out of it, carrying Nel in his arms. He landed and set her on her feet.

"Who are you?" Ulquiorra asked.

Ichigo looked at Ulquiorra and frowned. He drew his Zanpakutou and saw Orihime standing behind him.

"Well, whoever you are is unimportant," Ulquiorra said, unsheathing his Zanpakutou, "You are clearly not an Arrancar. You will die by my sword."

He turned to Nel.

"It is a shame you will have to die as well," Ulquiorra said, "You had potential, but you tossed it aside."

"The only thing that will be tossed aside is your corpse!" Ichigo yelled.

"Ulquiorra, he's my friend." Orihime said.

Ulquiorra turned to Orihime.

"Don't hurt him." She continued.

Ulquiorra frowned and turned to Ichigo.

"My own interests are unimportant," Ulquiorra said, "He must die."

Ichigo held his Zanpakutou to his side and it began to glow. Black energy flowed out of it and wove around him like a dark cloth.

Ichigo flew toward Ulquiorra with a slash of his glowing Zanpakutou. He blocked the strike and moved out of the way of the wave. He kicked his hand away and they exchanged two slashes. They interlocked blades.

Ulquiorra kicked Ichigo back and swung down. He rolled out of the way and swung his blade at his head. He dodged it and swung at him. Ichigo dodged the strike.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"Ichigo yelled.

Ichigo sent the energy wave at Ulquiorra who simply waved his hand at it, dissipating it.

Ichigo's eyes widened with shock and he frowned.

"Dammit." Ichigo said.

Ulquiorra stabbed at Ichigo, who dodged and swung his blade down on him. He blocked it and pointed at him. Green energy collected at his fingertip. Ichigo jumped out of the way as Ulquiorra shot an energy beam at him.

The beam shot toward Nel and she tried to suck it in. The beam did not go into her mouth and it was fast approaching. She jumped out of the way and the beam smashed into a wall behind her and exploded. The explosion sent out a wave the flung Nel against a wall. She went unconscious.

"Nel!" Ichigo yelled.

Ulquiorra swung at Ichigo and he jumped out of the way. He swung at his neck, arm and leg. Ichigo wove through the slashes and jumped back. His sword exuded black energy and he jumped at him with a swing.

Ulquiorra blocked the slash and pushed him back. He shot a beam at him and he dodged it. The beam hit the ceiling and exploded, sending debris falling toward him. The debris fell on him, slamming him onto the ground.

Ichigo pushed the debris aside and Ulquiorra directed another beam at him. He jumped out of the way and the resultant explosion sent him smacking against a wall. Ulquiorra slashed at Ichigo and they locked blades.

Ichigo spat blood at Ulquiorra's face. He kicked him in the gut and tossed him away. He wiped the blood off his face and swung down at him. He rolled away from the slash and rose to his feet.

Ichigo sent a Getsuga Tenshou at Ulquiorra who dissipated it with a wave of his hand. He shot an energy beam at him, sending him hurling back and slamming against a wall. He struggled to his feet, wiping blood of his bruised face.

Ichigo panted heavily. His chest was badly bruised and part of his attire had burnt. He grimaced and placed his hand over his face. He donned his Hollow mask, catching Ulquiorra off guard.

Ichigo roared and flew toward him, his blade exploding with energy. He slashed at Ulquiorra and they locked blades. The latter's eyes widened in shock and the former growled like a carnivore.

* * *

A BUILDING'S wall exploded with part of the resultant smoke shooting out. Ichigo and Ulquiorra flew through the air, clashing blades.

Ulquiorra kicked Ichigo with a back flip and shot an energy beam at him. He spun around the beam and flew back at him with his glowing blade. He blocked the slash, but the force was too much.

Ichigo pushed Ulquiorra into the air and flung him upward. He balanced himself and sent an energy beam at him. He dodged it and sent a Getsuga Tenshou at him. The blast hit him, sending out an explosion that resulted in a shockwave.

Orihime watched the fight from the hole in the wall. She heard stirring and turned to see Nel coming to. She ran toward her.

The smoke dissipated and Ulquiorra hovered in mid air, breathing heavily with his jacket heavily tattered. He frowned.

"Resurreccion, Segunda Etapa," Ulquiorra said.

Black energy exploded out of his body, sending out heat waves that forced Ichigo to shield his eyes with his forearm. The heat waves dissipated and he slowly removed his forearm. His eyes widened with shock.

Ulquiorra's clothes and Zanpakutou had disappeared. He had two long horns, green eyes with yellow pupils, the tear lines had turned into smears down his cheeks and his bare chest had a large hole in the middle which had a black mark running down his stomach like smeared paint. His skin was completely white and he had black fur on his arms. He had two large black bat wings, a tail and his lower body was covered in black fur with two large patches of fur extending from his lower back and large claws extending out from his feet.

"Urahara was right, Hollows are like demons," Ichigo said.

"Those are your final words? Disappointing," Ulquiorra said.

Ulquiorra swooped toward Ichigo with such speed that he broke a sound barrier. He tried to block his Zanpakutou and he easily grabbed it and his face, breaking his mask and tossing him into the building.

* * *

URAHARA KISUKE stepped out of a trolley and walked down a street. He walked passed a sign that read "SAN FRANSOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY".

Ever since he had returned from the Sereitei with Ichigo, Rukia and Yoruichi, Urahara knew that something was strange about the world. People had been accessing the Precipice World without the use of reiatsu and a foreign being had crossed over to their world.

The earth had changed as well. Karakura Town was no longer in Asia, but was now in a continent that was the mixture of America and Asia, Amerisia. Politics had changed and there were different presidents in power. Things had changed so drastically and yet no one other than himself seemed to notice the difference. He knew that he would sound insane if he tried to explain it to Yamamoto or anyone else, but he knew that someone out there knew.

He discovered a secret espionage agency, SHIELD, Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, and had hacked into their archives. He discovered that the continents of the earth had merged and that new locations were popping up all over the world. The agency itself was unclear about what was going on, but had important information from a Tony Stark that dimensions had merged because of an accident that happened in a city called San Fransokyo.

Urahara did all his research and knew that earth was forever changed and nothing could be done about it. One thing however struck him and he needed to speak to the man who had the fate of Amersia and Karakura in his hands.

* * *

ORIHIME KNEELED beside Nel, conjuring up a force field around her body that was slowly healing her. Ichigo burst through a nearby wall and crashed onto a pillar. Ulquiorra flew into the room.

"No, don't hurt him!" Orihime cried.

Ulquiorra landed and ignored her.

He walked up to Ichigo and lifted him by his neck. He kicked him in the gut and tossed him aside. He bounced on the ground and fell through a nearby pillar. He fell on the ground and spat out blood.

Ichigo tried to stand up and Ulquiorra kicked him in the head. He stomped on his hand, halting his fall and he grabbed his face. He held his hand upward, like he was holding a javelin and an green energy spear formed in it.

Ulquiorra threw Ichigo toward a wall and threw the spear at him. He flew out of the way, letting the spear hit the wall. The spear exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the wall and causing a fire to start.

"Ulquiorra, please!"Orihime cried.

Ulquiorra turned to her and he sighed. Ichigo struggled to his feet and spat out blood. Ulquiorra walked up to him.

He conjured up a spear and stabbed his leg, pinning him to the ground.

"No!" Orihime yelled.

Orihime ran up to Ulquiorra as he lifted his hand to form another spear. She held his hand.

"Please, don't do this," Orihime said.

He turned to her, seeing the tears in her eyes.

"Please," Orihime said, a lump forming in her throat.

Ulquiorra turned to Ichigo, seeing him bleeding out on the ground.

"I don't have a choice," Ulquiorra said.

"No, you do, you can let him live. Please, don't do this," Orihime said.

Ulquiorra set his arm down and she let go of his hand.

"Thank you," Orihime said.

"I have orders to follow and they include killing all those who intrude in the Sereitei," Ulquiorra said.

Ulquiorra conjured an energy spear and stabbed it into Ichigo's back.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried.

Ulquiorra held Orihime's arm and walked away with her.

"Aizen wanted to see you," Ulquiorra said.

Orihime cried and struggled, but Ulquiorra pulled her regardless.

Sounds muffled and the crackling of fire echoed. Ichigo's vision was blurry. The light of flames reflected from the right and dust filled the air. He coughed and could feel immense pain spreading through his body. He strained to turn to Nel who was lying amongst the rubble.

She turned to him, her beautiful hazel eyes buried behind tears that welled up within her. She struggled to move, but her body would not let her.

"Ichigo …," She breathed weakly.

Ichigo's body felt like it was under a ton of bricks. The pain was immense, but was quickly rivalled by the misery that welled up within him.

He had failed to avenge Rukia's death and he had failed to avenge his mother. He failed to save Orihime and now he was bleeding on the ground in a place eons away from home. He was alone. Neither his friends, his sisters nor his father were anywhere nearby. All he had left was the sight of the beauty before him.

Seeing Nel now, the girl he was growing fond of, hurt more than the spear that drove through his lung. He would rather be boiled alive or ripped to shreds by an army of Hollows than to die seeing that he had another person to add to the list of people he had failed.

Blood that oozed from his mouth. Nel said something, but the loudness of the silence washing over him stopped him from hearing what she had to say.

Everything went black.

* * *

GIN ICHIMARU walked into Aizen's throne room with a man following him.

"Lord Aizen, we have a guest," Gin said.

Aizen's eyes lit up when he saw the man.

"Ah, what a surprise," Aizen said, "What brings you here, Loki Laufeyson,"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

For info about the sequel, please check the bio. The universe is far from over and your continued support will be highly appreciated.

**As always, Follow, Favourite and Review and Await the Awesomeness as we dive deeper into the universe. Thanks for reading.**


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